My Life as a Mom...

I Did It

2012-01-31T09:20:00.001-07:00

I like to be a woman of my word. After I posted about writing on my blog more if there was a way to use my iPhone, I thought "Of course there has to be an app for that." I opened the app store and found it almost instantly. I am super excited to.

Here it is. My first post from my iPhone. It is short and sweet. Mostly because I have a lot to do this morning and I'm going to lunch with my Grandma who came to town because she has never seen my new house. (I will have to share the pics of the house another day.)

Exercise, Excuses and iPhones

2012-01-30T17:21:00.001-07:00

I am not good at doing more than one thing at a time...at least not when it is new.

For instance my new exercise agenda has taken over my life. Not a bad trade off, but kind of a nuisance at times. Last week I was super lazy, but this weekend I got a renewed sense of determination, thanks to Peanut Butter Toffee Brownies and my good buddy Adam.

And I got an iPhone.
Its white.
So pretty.
I love it.
It can do EVERYTHING!
As soon as I learn how I can blog from that thing, I will update this more, I promise. I hardly ever use the home computer anymore. Sitting here trying to type this is kind of a pain, not going to lie.

In other news: Did you know that there is a Nielsens Frozen Custard in Rexburg??? How did I not know this? It is a mere 20 miles away from me and I had no idea. Oh sweet deliciousness. Caramel Cashew Concrete I am coming after you. It is good it is so far away. It impedes my exercise plan for it to be closer.

Something New

2011-09-12T23:04:00.001-06:00

I am on a quest. A quest to be healthy and to be a better me. I want to be able to run with my kids and hike to the tops of beautiful mountains and to fit into someones else's cute jeans. My journey is to be Fit by 40. I have a little over 3 years. I have a cousin who is my "coach." She challenged me to write in my fitness journal daily. I will be recording my progress on a new blog. http://seeingalittlelessofme.blogspot.com/

Feel free to join me or to follow my journey. I need all the motivation and support I can get! My first challenge is to run in a 5K on Oct 15. Anyone want to join me?

First Day of School, 2011

2011-08-29T17:09:00.000-06:00

First day of school! First day of school! Nemo was excited and so were all my kids. Luke woke up at 5:58 am. Emma was the first one dressed and ready to go. At 6:30! Emma is the child that I have to push and prod to do anything and who slept in until well past 9 all summer long. They were all ready to walk out the door at 6:45 when I abruptly stopped them and forced them to eat breakfast, and take lots of fun first day pictures. Luke wanted to go NOW but I tried to explain to him that no one would be there at 6:30 in the morning. He didn't believe me. Maybe tomorrow I will let them go early, just so they can see for themselves.

Ally 5th grade

Luke, 1st Grade

Emma, 3rd Grade

Clark, will be 3 on Thursday

Ryan, That's Mr. Hansen to you

Love the fingers!

Miss Ehlers, Luke thinks she is cute.

Mrs. Westover, Ally also had her for 3rd and Em had her for reading last year. SO excited to be in her class again.

Miss Wright, brand new teacher this year who loves all things Disney...we already love her!

Smith Family Reunion 2011

2011-08-25T14:26:00.001-06:00

We had our reunion in Island Park this summer, at our friends, The Wells cabin. We were in charge this year, so it was a little more stressful then it ~~usually~~ ever is. I thought it was fun and I am pretty sure everyone else had fun. When we planed the reunion, we were hoping to buy a house. We certainly didn't know we would close the week before the reunion or we probably would have planned it for a different week. Needless to say, a few things were over looked, like the oars for our canoes.

What would have been a leisure 2 hour trip down the river from Big Springs to Macks Inn, turned into a four our drag...Ryan walked most of the way dragging the rest of us all tied together in boats and canoes. And by us I mean my family and a couple cousins and one sister in law. Everyone else had a pretty normal trip...except my sisters family who's raft got a hole in it. They had to get out and walk to the end of the river trip. They made it back 30 minutes before us though.

We were smart enough to not take the camera in the water with us, so the funniest thing that happened has no documentation. But the rest of the reunion was captured well. Here are some fun pics...warning there are lots!

Hawaii 2007

2011-07-27T10:47:00.001-06:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Some summer stories for ya!

2011-07-06T16:40:00.004-06:00

Hey. This is Ryan.

I think enough has happened that it's time to update the general populous.

First, I went back to grad school. This came after a prompting from my classmate and friend, Jill, peer pressured me to just suck it up and go for it. I think her exact words were, "Do it! You gotta do it! You should just do it! Do it, wimp-o!" So I, being the grateful pushover I am, jumped in feet first and with the love and support of my awesome chick, Lish.

You know how some things that are right just fall into place? Well, it must have been the right time because everything really just came together quickly. I had to have my stuff in to the university (Walden University, in case you were wondering. Google it, it's accredited, which translates to legit.) I'm getting my Master's in Educational Science with an emphasis in Integrating Technology in the Classroom. Totally nerdy, but appropriate. Administration just isn't my bag, baby. So far, I've loved it. I'm only two weeks in, though, but I've previewed all my materials and I'm impressed ... and motivated to do better this year. And for four classes more, I can get licensed in Instructional Design and Technology. Win, win. Plus, the first class is free and they give you all your books. It's already added in the cost. I'll be done in two years.

The second thing is we are finally in a position to buy a home. We have worked to clear our debts and credit so that we can provide a good, affordable home for our family. We looked at several and I think we know what we want. The market is great and we can buy a lot of house for a little money. I can't wait for the day when we can sign those papers and get into a home of our own. I really just want to be able to go to the bathroom without someone busting in on me.

This truly is becoming a summer of change.

Grad class discussions and blogging

2011-07-06T16:37:00.002-06:00

Hey. This is Ryan.

Do you mind if I post my discussions for my grad class here? I'd love a rousing discussion on what my educational viewpoints are.

My discussion prompt for this week was:
Imagine if a movie were made about your teaching passion, commitment, and impact. What would an inspiring scene from your movie look like and how would it reflect the concepts presented this week? Based on what you want to accomplish as a teacher, consider how you would respond to Mr. Canter’s retirement dinner activity. What would you want students, parents, and colleagues to say about you at the end of your teaching career?

One of my supervisors once described me as “unorthodox.” I really just translated it as weird. My movie would probably be something between “Patch Adams” and “The Paper.” (If you haven’t seen the latter, check it out. It’s a pretty accurate depiction of a newspaper office. It is “R” though, so you’ve been warned.)

I know that I’m a clown. I consider myself an entertainer when I’m at the front of the classroom. I know that I have to captivate the attention of my students – whether in speech or my publications classes (yearbook, photo or newspaper). In speech, I take the approach of not being afraid to look like an idiot in front of an audience. So, I’m goofy. Our discussions on current events are spirited. We talk about the absurdities of today’s societies. We talk of, as it was mentioned in the viewing, of subjects that matter to them (Nieto, 2003) and deal with differences.

My movie would depict my passion for journalism and communication and our race to be nationally recognized. It would definitely be a “dramedy” because if you’ve ever been in a high school publications class, you would definitely see some pretty funny drama. I would hope to see that my students, though their home lives are not ideal, would have an escape at our newsroom. Or that the students who aren’t particularly awesome at sports, would have one thing to feel like they accomplished something or are superb in something other than sports.

As for my retirement dinner, I would hope my students would say that they always had at least one person who cared for them at the high school. I hope they saw the sacrifices I made with my own family for my school family. I hope they know that I truly cared about their success. I hope they say my class was fun. I hope they say they looked forward to coming to my class because the hour would fly by and they actually walked out each day with one nugget of knowledge.

I hope they say that I inspired them to do the best they could and that I held them on equal ground as professionals like Peter Jennings or Walter Cronkite. I hope they say they loved coming to yearbook, newspaper or photo because it was like coming to their second family – fights and all!

I hope my colleagues say my content area is significant and that my passion drove my students to excellence. I hope they recognize journalism as an application of core classes they are mandated to take. I hope they express they knew I respected them as professionals and equals.

I want both my colleagues and my students to say I loved what I did and in turn, they loved being around me. I want them to say I was excited to come to school and do what I do.

I Love Summer!

2011-06-29T12:59:00.000-06:00

Our life is drastically different in the summer as compared to the rest of the year.
The biggest difference is the absence of a schedule.
It is not unusual for people to still be asleep at 9 am around here.
Lately it has been reminiscent of a lazy Saturday...everyday.
The kids were 30 minutes late to swim team the other morning because I forgot what day it was.
It has been nice.
I feel like my brain is on vacation.
Here is what we have been doing.

Multiple trips to the zoo.

Watching the penguins.

Playing in the children's zoo.

Stuck in the egg shell.

Luke has been playing T Ball.

Waiting to bat.

The White Lightening.

Ally has been playing softball.

Lady Tigers up to bat.

Up to bat. She plays machine pitch and has improved TONS.

Jumping on the ripped trampoline. Dad took it down the next day.

Losing more teeth!

Spending lots of time at the pool.

Flying Green Monster

Superman!

Relaxing in the sun.

Ryan's Grandpa Taylor surprised us one day...he was in town visiting his sister. Clark had never met him.

Spent the evening at the Global Water Dances event. My sister organized and choreographed the event.

Maga the flag carrier and Molly the Director.

Beautiful evening. The weather was perfect.

Emma got a new hair cut.

We have also been able to spend lots of time with cousins. Ally and Emma have been to Dance Camps, Luke and Emma both attended Tennis Camp. We have had multiple trips to the library, but not as many as we should.

hope you are having fun this summer! We should hang out.

Double Digits

2011-06-13T22:21:00.000-06:00

Ally is TEN! I am amazed at how fast the time flies! It seems like just a few years ago I was pregnant for the first time and eagerly awaiting becoming a mother (read: scared to death!) I am so excited for her to continue to become a real person. She is smart, funny and very involved. She also knows exactly what she wants. This birthday brought that realization into clear focus. Here are a few examples.

We went shopping for her birthday outfit and she chose this shirt right off. We looked and looked and shopped for a long time, but she kept coming back to this shirt. She likes how the ruffles bounce up and down as she dances hip hop.

For her birthday she wanted her hair highlighted and to have a feather put in. Aunt Sam did the highlights and we headed over to Austin Kade Academy for the fancy hair, the feather and the nails.

Ally decided she wanted to go to dinner for her birthday. She wanted Texas Roadhouse because her favorite thing to eat is Steak. Did I mention she is only 10?

In school this year they read a book about Eleanor Roosevelt. Her favorite cake was Angel Food Cake with Pink Whipped Cream (full of fresh strawberries). Ally copied the recipe out of the book and brought it home. This was in February. When it came time to choose the cake she wanted, she pulled out the recipe and said, "this is what I want for my birthday cake." Not super pretty, but MAN did it taste good!

We had a cake with our IF cousins. We have a bigger, better swimming party planned for when more cousins will be in town next week.

Ally is an amazing help around the house. I love watching her grow and become a beautiful young woman. Last night at dinner she asked if she got to go to Girls Camp this year. We told her she had to be 12. Then it hit me that soon she will be. I feel like I missed a few years somewhere along the way to have children old enough to be thinking about young women and caring whether they have their nails painted. She is growing up way to fast for me, but I feel like I am powerless to stop it.

Did I mention she shaved her legs the other day? She showed me this morning.

Emma's Big Day

2011-05-18T15:43:00.001-06:00

Emma was baptized on April 9. It was a fun day for everyone. We enjoyed having our family and friends attend and support her on her day.

Here is the whole family right before the meeting.

Posing with mom.

Grandpa Hansen flew in from Arizona for the weekend.

Dad was able to baptize and confirm her a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Right before she was ready.

We had a lunch afterwards with all the cousins who came to visit. Here she is posing with Birdie, G and Lu.

Disneyland/Anaheim Day 2

2011-05-06T11:51:00.001-06:00

Day 2 started out similar to Day 1. Get up early and head to Disneyland. We spent the morning in the park, again visiting places we don't normally go.

We had breakfast with two of the seniors at the Carnation Cafe. It is the outdoor restaurant right on Main Street. The food was delicious and surprisingly not ridiculously expensive like we usually expect it to be. In the past we hardly ever ate in the park because it is so pricey, especially with 4 kids. We decided to splurge this go round and it was well worth it.

Peter Pan was just wandering around Fantasyland. We asked him if he would sign the autograph book and have a picture with us. He took the book and said, "Sure, I am walking over here, want to come with me?" So we followed him. Eventually he stopped, but only long enough for the picture, then he was off again, waving to kids and saying hello to everyone he passed.

California was gorgeous, 85 degree weather. It felt so good being in shorts and wearing sunglasses, and not because of the glare off the snow.

Today was also the first day of the JEA (Journalism Education Association) Conference. You know, the reason we were in Anaheim to begin with. At 1 pm we headed over to the convention hotel to check in and meet all the yearbook reps. This is one thing I actually did that was JEA related. We spent several hours there playing games, collecting free stuff and enjoying the recognition.
This picture is the yearbookers posing in front of the Pacemaker Nominees Sign, pointing to their yearbook and smiling excitedly. A Pacemaker is the equivalent of a Pulitzer Prize for high school yearbooks. It is a national award that The Spud Annual (I know, right?) was nominated for, for their 2010 yearbook.

Here is a closer picture of Ryan pointing out the yearbook. He has been working toward a nomination for this since his Junior year in high school. Needless to say he is super giddy and very nervous about the potential award. One really neat thing the convention people did was give all the students a special ribbon to add to their name tag, noting them as Pacemaker Finalists. Everywhere they went people would congratulate them on their nomination. They felt like Rock Stars!

After spending the afternoon at the vendor booths, we took the students to Goofy's Kitchen for dinner. We learned from our very first trip with the kids what a fun experience the character dining is. The food is always super yummy and it is fun to meet the characters in a more relaxed setting, without the lines and mobs of people trying to catch them for a picture.

Goofy has always been one of Ry's favorite characters.

Here are the other characters we got to meet at dinner.

Captain Hook, who was surprisingly flirtatious.

Dale, of Chip and Dale. Chip was around earlier but we missed a picture with him.

Here is a first. Belle in the dress she wears for almost the entire movie. I loved that I got to meet her in her "normal" clothes and not the super fancy dress. Did I mention she is my favorite? I think I did.

Fairy Godmother. Also another first!

Pluto. One of our favorites.

Of the 24 students that went on the trip, only 5 were male.

Here is "the Boyz" picture with Pluto.

I love how he puts the book on his nose to sign his autograph.

After Goofy's Kitchen we headed back to Downtown Disney to look around at the shops. This Woody statue made of Legos was a new addition to the Lego store since the last time we visited.

We rode the Monorail tonight, another thing we have never done. I vaguely remember riding it when I was 8, but I am not even sure we did.

Two more days of fun to be added soon. Probably not until after the weekend though. We are out of town and I don't have the pics on the laptop.

Disneyland/Anaheim Day 1

2011-05-05T09:57:00.000-06:00

We Love all things Disney.

When I married Ryan he already owned all the full length animated movies. He got paid for babysitting in Disney movies as a teenager. Needless to say our obsession has grown since we both are such big fans. (Side Note: Playing Disney trivia with him is NOT fun. You never have a chance of winning)

When we found out the JEA National Convention was in Anaheim again, we were super excited to take his students and share the Magic of Disney with them. We brought 24 students with us and out of them 8 had never been to Disneyland or had only been when they were super small and didn't remember it.

Here is my recap of our trip. The first day was spent entirely at the parks. We had 4 day park hoppers and we took full advantage...at least I did. I was not attending the confernce so I spent most of my days at the resort.

Outisde our hotel super excited to walk over to the park.

All of us (I took the picture) outside the front gate.

On the train, one of the rides we rarely take. We discovered if you get on it and ride it to Fantasyland, it is about the same amount of time it takes you to walk there. Some people getting off the train with us were "First Timers" and they had a 4 and 2 year old daughter. We encouraged them to go get in the relatively short line to meet the princesses, that was where we were headed. They really didn't know the princesses well, just from their pictures on their panties. We waited in line with them for about 30 minutes and got to talk to them about their first Disney trip. It didn't occur to us until later that we really had no real motivation for meeting the princesses, again. We had all their autographs and pictures with all of them from previous trips.
Watching those 2 little girls meet them was one of the highlights of the whole week. They were so sweet giving them big hugs and holding on so tight for the pictures. Their mom was crying, as was their aunt. It was such a fun way to start our day. It was then that we realized we wanted to do something different this trip. The kids were not with us and we didn't really have to do what they normally want to do when we visit.

Tiana is one of Emma's favorite princesses. Ry took a picture with her and sent it by text to one of his students back home. She was super excited for him to meet her. Tiana used to sing in the mornings in New Orleans and we asked her when we could catch her show. She doesn't sing there anymore, but if lots of people ask for it to be brought back they may let her do it again. So put in your vote. We want to hear her sing!

Ariel is beautiful! Belle is so kind. She has always been my favorite princess.

We don't buy a lot of souvenirs so we like to try them on and take pictures. Most of our memorabilia is in the form of pressed pennies.

This trip was all about doing things and discovering parts of Disney we had never done or seen. This is the golden spike. It is the exact center of Disneyland and millions of people just walk right by it every year. It's on the bridge to Sleeping Beauty Castle if you want to stop and find it next time.

They removed the CALIFORNIA letters outside California Adventure and are creating a new facade outside the front gate. There is also lots of new rides being built inside the park itself. This wall was built outside one of the construction zones. We had to stop to pose next to our favorites.

Yes those are oven mitts. So fun! Maybe one day I will have a Mickey Kitchen.

This was one of my biggest goals for this trip. Find Club 33. If you care click the link, if not whatever. Point is we found it, and we enlisted several students on our hunt. It was fun! It is in New Orleans if you care to search it out yourself.

This is the first time I have met the Mad Hatter. He was hilarious! His accent was silly, his nose was HUGE and he was super fun to talk to.

More later on our fun adventure!

A Photo to Remember

2011-05-04T14:26:00.000-06:00

Here is the story.

My sister-in-laws, sister found out about the 30 Strangers project and that it was time for submissions to be chosen for this years photos. She has all boys so she emailed my mother, who has 5 girls, and suggested that she ought to try for it. She didn't know who Justin is, so the need to be a stranger part, Check.

"ok. Why not?" and she does.

Fast forward a month. Justin Hackworth is calling letting her know she has been picked to be photographed. Now comes the tricky part. My mother has 4 sisters, 5 daughters, 11 grand-daughters and too many nieces to count. This is a Mother-Daughter Photo Shoot, but we can't have 50 people in the pictures right? One from every generation is what he wants.

So how to decide?

Grandma Dolly, or Blanche, is the oldest daughter in her family.

Allyn, or mom, is also the oldest daughter. I see a theme developing here.

So that is how I was chosen to be part of this once in a lifetime event. This amazing project that I may or may not have heard about prior to the invitation from mom to have my photo taken.

Ally was a trooper. She was up late the night before and danced all morning.

A four generation picture of all the oldest daughters is appealing, and a great opportunity to create a wonderful memory. I am so grateful I got to be a part of it. The timing of it was perfect. We were Day 30.

Photos Courtesy of Justin Hackworth

The exhibit will be in July in Provo UT. I will fill you in on details as I get them.

New March edition of the Tiger Times ... from Ry

2011-03-23T15:56:00.000-06:00

Open publication - Free publishing - More idaho falls

Sounding Smart - A Tale from the Education Trenches

2011-03-01T16:42:00.005-07:00

Hey. This is Ry.

You need a laugh. Admit it. Allow me to provide it.

While I was grabbing some info from the art teacher, one of my yearbook girls in his class called me over to quickly proofread her English essay and give her some suggestions. I did and handed the paper back. The girl handed me another paper with a list of words.

“I have a list here of words I want to use on this paper. I want to my teacher to think I’m smart. I want to put these words in.”

Apparently, she had gone through the dictionary and chosen random words to help her seem "smart."

I glanced down at the list and went over her “smart words.” They were complete with definitions so she knew how to use them correctly.

1. Impractical – unrealistic

2. Lunatics – psyschopaths (sic)

3. Menace – danger or threat.

It was number four that made me laugh out loud.

4. Menopause – change in life.

“Wait. What is menopause doing on the list? Is the character going through menopause?”

“No, Mr. Hansen! It means ‘change of life.’ Like, ‘Eli was going through a menopause when his family all died.’”

“Uh, I don’t think that’s what that means. Menopause is when a woman …” I stammered. I really didn’t want to finish that sentence.

Luckily, her friend next to her, sensing my awkward pause, whispered the true definition.

“Wait. What?” she asked.

Her friend clarified. The student’s eyes grew wide and she turned bright red.

“Yup, don’t use that word if you want to sound smart,” I laughed.

Awww, education. It happens in so many ways.

A sad day for education in Idaho

2011-02-25T06:21:00.000-07:00

Hey. This is Ryan. The Idaho senators passed two bills onto the House yesterday that effectively destroy teachers' collective bargaining rights and allows for merit pay among other things. The vote was 15-20 on both which leads me to believe that no amount of debate was going to change those 20 senators mind. It makes me sad. Our state superintendent of schools, who has no education background, is dead-set on destroying morale. Our representatives from Idaho Falls were instrumental in pushing this legislation through. I could not sleep this morning and wrote a letter to them. Here it is:

Dear Mr. Luna, Mr. Davis and Mr. Mortimer,

I’m kidding myself in thinking you might actually read this. I had to write, nonetheless, to appease my conscience (it’s 4 a.m. and I can’t sleep) and validate to myself that my chosen career matters. Let me start by saying I was crushed yesterday by those whom I elected to represent me in Idaho Falls so blatantly disregarded their constituents and misrepresented them while all of Idaho watched. I am embarrassed and saddened that our legislative system failed us yesterday. That is not supposed to happen in the United States of America. The democratic theory upon which I was raised is, “of the people, by the people, for the people,” and it was destroyed by your antics, “good senators,” on the floor. To say I’m disillusioned is putting it mildly. My confidence in the system is shaken and it is hard to teach my four children that if you are politically active, what you believe can help shape our laws. That is a “happily-ever-after” lie.

However, though my belief in the system is crushed, you cannot and will not crush my resolve and dedication to the profession I have chosen. I am a teacher at Idaho Falls High School. I teach yearbook, newspaper, speech and photography. I love what I do. My students love my classes, I’m proud to say. I teach classes that some may deem unworthy of recognition because they are electives. But, I am here to say that my classes are worth something and I am worth something. As I and my journalism classes watched the senate proceeding live yesterday, we discussed how to report them accurately and without bias. We noticed the details, such as facial expressions and wavering voices and reported those in impromptu news stories. We discussed at which angles we would take photos had we been on the floor that would better portray the emotions and importance of the event. Then we talked about why it was important for our student population to know the facts and how these pieces of legislation would affect them. And then we got back to work to publish our newspaper.

In 2003, as I graduated from Idaho State University, I was working full-time for the Idaho State Journal and going to school full-time. I won an Associated Press award for my writing and was shopping for schools at which I would teach. My editor-in-chief, unbeknownst to me, had given my name to the Gannett Corporation which owns USA Today. They called and offered me a job. I promptly turned them down saying I knew what I was supposed to do with my life and it was to educate future journalists. My editor then offered me a higher wage and better hours to stay at the Journal. I turned him down, citing my passion for education. He called me “a stupid, ignorant, idealistic ass.” It just fueled my fire.

In my seven years of teaching, I feel I have helped kids beyond what I could have done as a career journalist. And it hasn’t just been to find a love for a chosen career. I’m proud to say that about 95 percent of my journalism students go on to college. And of that 95 percent, 90 percent choose to take some journalism classes as they decide which path to follow. That is a success rate.

But the real passion for what I do comes from my personal experiences growing up in Arizona. Indulge me by letting me share a couple of stories.

When I was 14 years old, my mother abruptly died from lupus. My dad was faced to raise four boys alone. As a farmer, we hardly saw him after school. He would come home late at night after I had made dinner for my brothers and made sure everyone got their homework done, etc. Her death devastated us, as you can well imagine. But my dad made sure we understood school was our job. He would take care of the rest if we maintained good grades. It was difficult to go to school because anytime anyone said anything about their mother, it only reminded me I didn’t have one anymore. In my small community (and class sizes), every teacher knew my situation. And every teacher strived to raise me and help me graduate.

I remember the day I returned to school as a high school freshman after being absent for two weeks because of the death. I was in geometry class and the kid behind me started asking me if “my mom was a pig” because I “was such an oinker.” I promptly turned and punched him in the face. I started crying and our teacher yanked us out of our seats and put us in the hall. She demanded to know what was going on and, through breathless sobs, I told her what this kid had said. She sent him to the office and said he was lucky all he got from me was an elbow to the mouth. She then put her arm around my shoulders and let me sob for about five minutes and sent me to the nurse to recover.

My other teachers recognized I needed emotional help, as well. You see, they weren’t interested solely in advancing me to show results. They cared about me as a person. My journalism teacher nurtured my passion for accurately reporting the truth. It was she who encouraged me to take journalism in college. Come to think of it, she kind of nudged – or pushed, I guess – me to even going to college. My drama teacher checked in on us as she went home almost every night for about two months. She would come to the door, asked how we were doing and make sure we had started our homework. My English teacher encouraged me to express what I was feeling through writing – even if it didn’t match the assigned essay topics. It was a support system at school that got me through those difficult teen years without a mother. I can never thank them enough. I can only strive to live up to their examples by emulating how they treated me to my students now.

Last night I was rewarded once again and validated even though the events in Boise so disheartened me. I know now, come what may from uninformed elected “representatives,” I will continue to teach because what I do matters beyond academia.
At the art show my students display their photographs to the public (well-attended, I might add), I noticed a woman with slumped shoulders and a worn look on her face picking her way through the displays of hand-drawn art and mounted photographs. My colleague told me she was Ben’s* mother and had brought some cookies for the patrons of the show. I quickly stepped up to her and smiled, “I need to meet you. You’re Ben’s mom, right?”

She nodded “yes” and pointed out some of her favorite art. “I probably need to talk about Ben with you,” I interrupted.

By the look on her face, I knew I had a difficult conversation on my hands. It wasn’t one of anger or frustration, but that of desperation and exhaustion. Ben is one of my photo students and I’ve seen his grade slip this trimester. His attendance has also been poor and he was failing my class. With just two weeks left in the trimester, I knew he had to do some work to get his grade up and not fail. Ben is a good kid. Something had been going on with him.

“Have you checked PowerSchool lately?” I asked. She said she hadn’t had time yet. “Did you get my note I sent home in the mail today?” She replied she hadn’t been home yet that day.

“Well,” I began, a little hesitantly, “Ben is failing my class. But, to his credit, he stopped by yesterday before the failure notices came out and asked me what he needed to do to pass. So, that’s a start, right?”

She looked at her feet and shuffled a little bit. Then, looking in my eyes, said, “I don’t know what to do with him anymore. He’s rebelling, obviously, and I can’t seem to get through to him. It just sounds like nagging and he’s ignoring me.”

“Well, he is a teenage boy, you know,” and laughed to take the edge off. “What can I do to help you?”

“It’s not just your class, Mr. Hansen,” she said. “It’s every class. He’s missing them and not doing his work.”

“That doesn’t sound like Ben.”

“I know. Honestly, I don’t know if there is anything anyone can do. It’s up to him and I’m afraid for what might happen with him.”

I saw her pain as she turned and looked at the artwork and then back to me. What could I do to help this woman besides giving him some extra-credit points for attending the show?

“Look, could I talk to him tonight and maybe shake some sense into him? No offense, but sometimes it takes a male authority figure talking straight with a boy to let him know that he needs to shape up. I can give him the, ‘it’s-time-to-man-up’ talk. Would that be alright?”

Then, she surprised me. Her eyes brimmed with tears and she choked a little as she nodded. I was worried. “Did I overstep my bounds? Have I upset you?”

She shook her head and composed herself a little. “It’s just … that’s supposed to be his father’s job and he isn’t around very much anymore. It’s just hard raising him by myself. It doesn’t have the same impact coming from me. I would like you to talk to him very much.”

I told her I would do my best to kind of “forcibly nudge” him into the right direction. I then told her that Ben was very talented and very intelligent and that she would get through this. I asked her if I could give her a little side hug and she said OK. She left in better spirits, I believe, and I waited for Ben to come to the show. When he did, I pulled him aside and said, “We need to talk.”

“I hate it when people say that to me,” he said, his body language telling me he was putting a up his guard.

“Ben, do you know you’re the only one in class that didn’t have a photo on my wall tonight?”

“Yes.”
“That makes me sad. It makes me sad because I know how talented you are and nobody else here can see that without your photos. Ben, I spoke with your mom tonight and she’s worried about you. I’m worried about you. I care about your future. You are so intelligent and talented that you are starting down a path that will waste that intelligence. Do you know that?”

Another mumbled, “Yes.”

“OK, Ben. You’re doing the teenager thing where you’re just agreeing with me to get me to shut up. But I want you to hear me. There comes a time in every man’s life where they can point to and say, ‘This is where I decided to be a man.’ Ben, this is your moment. It is your time to decide, do I use my talents to build a life for me or do I be a bum? What are you going to decide?”

Then, he did something that caught me off guard. He started crying. This senior boy started crying and said, “I want to be better, Mr. Hansen. I know I wasted this trimester and I want to do better. I am working to catch up, but I know I messed up.”

“Then, what do I need to do to help you? And not just in photography. In all your classes. What do I need to do?”

We decided that he would check in with me every day and let me know of his progress. I asked him to stop by and say hello next trimester, too. I gave him until Monday to get caught up in my class instead of Friday. I told him to be honest with his other teachers and let them know he’s turning it around. And then I told him to go home and hug his mother and thank her for everything she does for him and for being a concerned parent. I told him I cared about him and his future. I told him I believed in him. I told him to get to work.

Now, will this kid turn it around? I’m not going to be cynical and say, “Probably not” or “He pulled one over on you.” I choose to believe my intervention matters to this fractured, tiny family.
That, sirs, is education. I can drill writing techniques, photo composition, how to battle stage fright and other things into their heads, but the heart of education is that we believe we can influence our young students for good. We are working to change the world, one kid at a time. I may have 50 kids in speech next year, but I will work to make sure every one of them knows that they have at least one person in their life that cares and will root for them, no matter what.
I ask you to look yourself in the eye tonight in the mirror and see if you can honestly say the same thing. Despite my frustration and disillusionment, I can do just that.

Sincerely,
Ryan Hansen,
Proud educator

P.S. And, just so you know, our last year’s yearbook is a finalist for an award called the Pacemaker. It is the scholastic journalism equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize and we are recognized as the top 11 journalism programs in the nation. We are the only school in the West (besides two schools in California) that has received this honor this year. We will find out in April if we won. Where’s my merit pay for that?

Great Achievements

2011-02-18T09:48:00.004-07:00

*Warning* The following post contains some major bragging, over enthusiastic pride, and a lot of "ick" factor. You have been warned.

You know how I am always saying how great and talented my husband is? What an amazing teacher and mentor he is to his students. Well now the entire country agrees with me...finally! He and his yearbook staff have the honor of being nominated for the "Yearbook Top 10". Here is an excerpt from a letter written by his Yearbook rep informing the principal of his school about his accomplishments.

I wanted to drop you a note to let you know how excited I am about some recent events honoring Ryan Hansen and The Spud Annual 2010 yearbook staff! Earlier this month I was at a Jostens Yearbook conference where they unveiled a promotion called the "YEARBOOK TOP 10". What's the "TOP 10" you might ask? Jostens has gone to great lengths to uncover the reasoning behind students buying and not buying their yearbooks. Jostens hired an outside firm to survey students to find out the top ten reasons students DON'T buy their yearbooks. What they found was that students want to be included.

Ryan Hansen, The Spud Annual adviser at Idaho Falls High School, was featured in the presentation for doing just that! He has definitely taken the "all inclusive coverage" idea to a whole new level! ...This presentation is being rolled out nationally among the entire Jostens force-and our Ryan Hansen is the star! The presenters will talk about Idaho Falls High School and the great (and diverse) coverage that Ryan and his staff(s) have managed to capture in The Spud Annual. Idaho Falls High School is talked about several times throughout the presentation.

In addition to being featured in the "TOP 10" presentation, The Spud Annual is being featured in this book as one of the top 50 yearbooks in the country!

Not only is he featured in these areas, he was also nominated for the Pace Setter award this year. This is like the Pulitzer Prize for yearbooks...not a joke. At the National Journalism Convention in Anaheim in April (which I am attending as a chaperon) they will announce the winner. Ry has been wanting this award since He was on staff at his high school yearbook. This is a super prestigious award that not many people are given, so just to be nominated is a huge honor! AND he has only been at this for 7 years! I told you he was good at what he does!

I am so proud of him and his drive to be the very best he can be at whatever he does. He truly is achieving greatness in areas he has dreamt about and worked hard to master. I love that his goals are being reached and his hard work is paying off. It is difficult to be under appreciated and under paid for all your effort. He is "one of the good ones" when it comes to teachers. It makes me heartbroken to hear the media bash teachers and blame them for parents not being involved in the lives of their children. Sadly, they think teachers have the sole responsibility for the downfall of education. It is too easy to point a finger at someone else rather than admit your own failings as a parent.

I am proud of Ryan and his colleagues for being the kind of people students can follow as an example and a guide. True there are teachers who do not measure up. This is another one of those "few ruining it for the masses" kind of situations. Even still, they continue to do the very best they can to inspire and teach these teenagers how to learn and grow in a society that ignores them and discounts their ability to achieve anything worth while.

In conclusion, I am super proud of my sweety! I am his number one fan and feel so blessed to be a small part of the recognition I know he so greatly deserves! You are AWESOME!

HANSEN COUSINS

2011-02-04T12:14:00.001-07:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Happy Birthday Grandma Hansen

2011-02-04T11:50:00.006-07:00

Yesterday would have been Ryan's moms 60th birthday. I often think about what it will be like when I finally get to meet her. Even though I have not been blessed by her directly, there are a lot of thoughts I have I want to remember.

I am told she was super fun and loved life. That is evident in her boys, especially Ryan. We laugh a lot. He has a fun outlook on life. It is almost annoying when I want to be in a bad mood...he never lets it last too long.

When I first met Neil, he made a comment about how I looked a lot like her. I took that as a compliment.

Everytime I have been pregnant I have an overwhelming feeling of the bond she has with my children. I know she is there, passing them on to her oldest son for our keeping.

When Ally was born, her first grand baby, we were given her baby picture, because she looks exactly like her.

As my kids get older, I feel the importance of trying to know her more and more.

We have a special relationship with Grammy and Grandpa Taylor. They took over for her when she passed and the boys have always remained top on their priority list, filling in in places she would have been. Weddings, baby blessings, holidays, etc.

People complain about mother-in-laws, but I have wished my whole marriage that I had one. When Neil remarried it was a blessing I had been waiting for for 5 years. I am blessed with 2 women to look at as great examples. My kids have a wonderful Grandma Mimi and hear memories full of pictures to look at as examples of love and service.

Thanks for all the love and joy you brought into Ryan's life.

A Wonderful Man

2011-01-11T09:55:00.004-07:00

Ryan is amazing. It makes me feel extremely blessed when I think about what a good husband and father he is. At times I wonder what I did to deserve him. Let me point out how our weekend went, just to illustrate what I am talking about.

I began taking the Christmas decorations and the tree down last week, but didn't know where the box for the actual tree was hiding so it stood bare for a day or so.

I went to work Friday night and came home to ALL the Christmas decorations completly finished being put away and an extremely clean kitchen.

Saturday was a day full of crazy.

At 9:00 I took Ally to her 4H day camp and went to pick up the Bountiful Basket. Ryan was here cleaning out the boys room to make space for the twin bed.

At 10:30 I was at the Melaluca store doing a little shopping. I also stopped by the DI to find a bed frame. Ryan was hauling a matress and a box srping from our neighbors house to ours, all the while trying to manage our tight corners and small doors.

At 12:00 I went to lunch with a bunch of friends then went shopping for sheets for Luke's new bed. Ryan was rearranging the boys bedroom, cleaning out boxes and getting rid of unnecessary toys and clothes to try to make things less cluttered.

At 3:00 I was trying to get Clark to take a nap by laying down with him. Ryan was doing dishes and working on laundry.

Then I went to work for the rest of the night. He made dinner, bathed the kids and put them to bed.

Sunday morning he went to a meeting before chuch, but had already set out the boys clothes for church.

Clark woke up with a swollen eyelid, so he left church and took him home so he could put heat on it and take a nap.

After church we went home and he made a meatloaf for dinner. I helped him chop vegetables, but then I had to get ready and leave for work.

At around 6:00 he showed up at work with dinner for me in his hand.

I just think about everything he did this weekend for our family and I am humbled by his dedication to us. What a wonderful person I am married too. What a blessing for my children to have such a loving father. I love you Ryan! Thanks for all you do!

Big Boy Beds

2011-01-10T16:23:00.006-07:00

We have a very small house. There is not a whole lot of room for...well, anything. The boys room has become a catch all for food storage, book shelves, extra pillows and blankets, craft supplies, you name it, it lives in their room. Mostly the closet, but honestly the closet isn't THAT big. It occured to me a few months ago that Luke was turning 6 and he was still sleeping in a toddler bed. In addition to that, Clark has never had a real crib...he has always slept in the pack-n-play. But I have begun to feel pretty strongly that even though there isn't room for it, we need to MAKE room for him to have a real bed.

On Saturday, I was having this very conversation with a good friend who responded with "we have a twin bed matress set just sitting in our basement that we have been meaning to get rid of." So a trip to DI for a bed frame and $10 later Luke has a twin bed! Who knew it was that simple?

We moved Clark into the toddler bed and finally put the pack-n-play away. I had to work that night but when I got home I couldn't resist sneaking in to see them in thier "new room" for the first time. I couldn't find the camera so I used my phone. And I didn't want to turn on the light so they are a little dark.

Clark's first night in a Toddler bed.

Luke sleeping in his full size bed complete with Superman quilt.

Me+Holidays=No Blogging

2010-12-16T16:17:00.003-07:00

The goodies are delicious though. Ryan and I decided to scale back on the monetary aspect of Christmas and focus more on 1 or 2 significant gifts. Amidst that though, life is still hectic and busy. Here is my 12 days of Christmas list where I have been spending my "spare time."

12-Planning the Applebee's breakfast with Santa for kids elementary school.

11-Planning the Relief Society Christmas brunch and program.

10-Making candy for friends and neighbors.

9-Writing our Christmas Letter.

8-Gathering addresses for Christmas cards.

7-Standing outside in the 8 degree weather at Toys R Us to get the best Black Friday deals for our cousin gifts.

6-Picking up lots of extra shifts at work.

5-Creating a whole new board to work with me at church...reorganization left me with no one.

4-Shuttling children to various recitals and other activities.

3-Packing Christmas gifts to be mailed far away to family we miss TONS!

2-Shopping for those perfect items for the people I love and creating gifts when shopping just won't cut it.

1-Trying to teach my children why we have Christmas in the first place and focusing more on giving rather than receiving. It is not as easy as it sounds. But I know if I try to keep everything Christ centered, it will all work out. We are already seeing the blessings from our efforts and it has been wonderful.

Family Photos

2010-11-07T16:15:00.013-07:00

Here are a few more of our favorites. Thanks again to Billie Jo for the great fun we had! I don't love some of them of me, but that is what Photoshop and going to the gym more are for right?

Ally, Age 9

Emma, age 7

Clark, age 2

Luke, age 5 (6 days before he turned 6)

My sweet girls

Geeky engagement pose

I love this backdrop

Potential Christmas Card photo.

A princess, a punk, a ninja and a lion

2010-11-04T10:16:00.006-06:00

Halloween has turned into an "event" these past few years. All the Smith cousins travel to get together because any holiday is better with cousins! Not only is there Trick or Treating, there are the Trunk or Treats a plenty to attend, the obligatory random ward party for dinner and of course the donuts, cider and toothbrushes from Grandma and Grandpa D. (He is an orthodontist). This year the festivites started at Maga and Papa's house. Here we are all ready for our evening of fun! Sam, T and A joined us for our first stop.

I spent the week trying to teach Clark to say "Trick or Treat" but of course he just stared at me blankly. As soon as Luke told him to say it though he wouldn't stop. When he first tried our the phrase I told him to say it to Maga and she would give him candy. Shoked and amazed, he said it to her one more time just to be sure, and of cousre it worked again! After that reaction, he was more than happy to say it to anyone who would listen. Anything for candy!

On to the pictures.

Poorly disguised Clark Kent a.k.a. Superman

Gertie with Little Z and her first Halloween, 9 days old.

He really liked having hair, even if it was scratchy and very poorly combed.

Molly and Suby.
We used her house as "homebase" for all our Trick or Treating.
It is in a great neighborhood and close to Grandma's house.

I remember when Papa had thick, black hair. He looked much better than this.

"I'm Harry Carry. How you doin'? You look wonderful!"

Cousin shot on Grandma D's lawn.

G the ladybug, Suby the Care Bear, Ally "the Punk" and Birdie as Athena.

Princess Lu and Princess Emma
(she wanted to wear the wig to church the next day and couldn't understand why that would not be appropriate)

Luke the Ninja ready to attack the cousins.

Clark the Lion all tuckered out after a long day of Trick or Treating,

and probably coming down off a sugar high.

The Party

2010-11-01T16:14:00.003-06:00

Luke's Birthday Bash was in Pocatello this year. All he wanted was to have his cousins at his party. How could we not comply? Payne's let us have the party at their house and most of the cousins were able to be there.

Luke and T.

"It's my Birthday!"
(and no he did not pee his pants, even though that would be normal for him. He spilled water on himself at dinner.)

At school right before he passed out his cupcakes to his friends, and right before the costume parade.

"The Tweens"
A small glimpse into our future...or as I like to refer to it, my worst nightmare.

Cousins waiting for cake!

The cake. SMB

"This mushroom makes you turn into a giant," as opposed to the ones that just make you big. Seriously? I got the right colors though! Oh and don't mind the cake showing...the box stuck to the top in transit and of course I did not take a picture before we left.

Luke is 6!

2010-10-29T07:46:00.006-06:00

Happy Birthday to Luke! He is six today and he is such a fun and curious little guy. We are so happy to have him in our family.

Here are a few pics over the years.

We love you buddy!

Ally's Close Up

2010-10-29T00:06:00.002-06:00

Seriously in love with this girl! She is turning into a "tween" before my very eyes. I thought I had more time. It makes me nostalgic when I realize my babies are not so baby anymore. *sigh* Imagine how I will feel in 10 more years?

New Family Pictures

2010-10-25T18:54:00.002-06:00

We had our first really cold day on Saturday, so we decided to have our family pictures taken. Well maybe that isn't really how it was planned, but nevertheless, we were cold and narrowly avoided the rain at the end of the photo shoot. Ry is photoshopping them still and we are deciding on the favs, but here is a sneak peak. And may I say I look pretty hot?

Our California Adventure

2010-10-20T13:24:00.001-06:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Happy Breast Cancer Awareness Month

2010-10-10T21:25:00.005-06:00

On the way home, we stayed in St. George again with our friends the Adams. For dinner we ordered pizza from a yummy pizza place. The crust is flavored, which is by far the best thing about their pizza. We had the Cajun Crust and the Butter Parmesan Crust. Both were great. The funniest thing though were the pink boxes the pizza came in. Happy Breast Cancer Awareness Month indeed! This is for you Hawaiian Shells!

San Diego Sunshine

2010-10-09T16:23:00.005-06:00

Fun in the Sun

2010-10-07T22:55:00.003-06:00

Disney Day 2

2010-10-07T00:41:00.000-06:00

Disney Day 1

2010-10-06T08:22:00.001-06:00

California Love

2010-10-03T22:08:00.000-06:00

Ally found a praying mantis in our cousins backyard. We are in California visiting them and headed to fun destinations this week. Stay tuned for more fun pics!

Emma having fun in the backyard.

Luke and cousin Ty "tooting" with their hands. They love it, couldn't get enough.

These are the Hansen boys from our 2 families. It is amazing how much they look alike.

Football Firsts

2010-09-18T11:02:00.005-06:00

Luke is playing flag football with a bunch of 1st and 2nd graders this year. At first he wasn't quite sure what to do, but he is fast. Probably one of the fastest on the team. But he is also the smallest, by a lot. Needless to say he is targeted a lot as "easy to push over". Usually coach has him on defense so he can hang back and chase the kid who breaks through the line and grab his flag. He is getting better and better at it too.

Last Saturday, while we were at the fair, he made his first touchdown. Here is how it went, so I am told. He was playing quarterback, which was also a first, and he called the play, got the ball and dropped back to hand it off as they had planned. Well the kid wasn't there, Luke saw an opening so he ran for it and went straight down field to the end zone.

No one could catch him and he scored! Then he did it again for the extra point. This was also the first time he has ever touched the ball in a game. The season is short...only 3 more games in 1 more week and and we are done. It has been a great experience for him though and he is really learning the game. Just add it to the list of sports he is quickly becoming good at. He is a Hansen through and through when it comes to natural ability. Heaven knows he didn't get it from me!

I LOVE Picasa

2010-09-10T13:46:00.004-06:00

So I just have to give a shout out here to Picasa. It has the most amazing features that I have been wanting in a photo organizing program...if one existed, until recently I was not sure it did. It does the coolest thing. When you label a face in a photo, it will go through ALL (yes all, it is a lengthy process) your photos and use facial recognition to determine where that face shows up in them. Pretty cool and super fun to watch. It is not always right, but it gives you the opportunity to confirm or reject a picture before adding it to a folder. The funniest thing is watching it choose Luke or various cousins when it is looking for Clark. It just proves how strong genetics can be!

I have used Picasa randomly for the past couple years, but not until my friend Shalah posted about this awesome feature did I realize how truly great this program can be. Her post is so informative too! I wish you had access to it, but she has gone private. All I can say is load it on your computer, it is free and it will organize all the randomness into what really matters...PEOPLE! It does a lot more too, but for me this is the deal cincher! I love it and I love finding all my cuteys pics in one place!

Redfish Lake

2010-08-26T15:28:00.011-06:00

happy kids

having fun in the sun

building a castle

discovering new life

"playing" in the water

trying to wake up

early morning fishing

beautiful mountain lakes

dancing

watching

singing

reflecting

Smith Family Reunion 2010.

Summer Rewind

2010-08-08T13:34:00.008-06:00

Blogging has fallen by the wayside this summer. Although I am not working nearly as much as I was last summer, I have not wanted to spend time in front of the computer when I am home. It is easier to sit here when there are 10 inches of snow on the ground, but when it is warm outside, there is fun to be had!

I am not sure why Ryan has not been blogging this summer. I know you were all expecting him to write, I know I was. I have to admit I miss his funny stories and adventures without me. Lets face it, he has a great way of putting a spin on everyday monotony that I have yet to capture.

Having said that, I wanted to add some pictures that got missed...for posterity's sake.

Clark learned to hate being confined. Carseats, strollers, even jackets and shoes drive him crazy!

This is the girls last day of school. Ally was excited to wear her "Stand Out" competition outfit since dance was finally over.

Luke and his favortie cousin Yogs with their matching T-shirts. Yes, Ryan bought them both.

Me and Birdie.

Emma on the Bounce house slide. My cousin owns a gym and brought this with her to our family picnic in Smithfield. It was a HIT!

Annual family picture in Smithfield, Utah.

Lukes last soccer game.

Clark enjoying the soccer game.

LAGOON!

2010-08-05T23:42:00.011-06:00

We went to Lagoon on Wednesday for a fun family day. Our IF cousins and our SLC cousins joined us there for the day. It was cloudy and overcast all day, with even a few sprinkles here and there in the early afternoon...It was perfect weather for an amusement park. It was a "first" for the boys. The last time we went to Lagoon I was pregnant with Luke and the girls were too young to remember it.

Here are some highlights from our fun day!

Our IF cousins and us posing at the beginning of our day.

The first ride of the day...Bulgy the Whale.

Luke "Why did you make us go on a baby ride first?"

Ryan "So Clark could go on one too."

Little did he know, he was two inches short to ride much more than baby rides and it made him sad all day long. Next summer...we hope.

Clark was not sure what to think about the rides. He loved it though because everytime we asked if he wanted to ride he said "yeah" and tried to get out of the stroller.

Ryan getting sick on the Jumping Dragon...basically just spins in a circle really fast.

Wicked is a crazy ride that shoots you straight up..then straight down. No pausing to scream. It is a bit disorienting and freaky...Emma is still in shock in this picture. I went on it twice in a row. Still not sure why I did that.

Hanging out at Lagoon-A-Beach, trying to cool off a little bit. The extra child is Dexter. He is our neighbor/babysitter who loves our kids. After graduation he moved to SLC so he joined us for the day. We miss him so it was fun to have him come to the park with us.

The highlight of Clarks day was riding the train. We loved it!

Luke and his SLC cousin hanging out in the cars. They are silly when they get together.

Closer to 2

2010-07-26T00:07:00.004-06:00

Clark is cute. Lets face it, we make cute kids. He still has the squeezey cheeks that I just want to pinch every time I see them. He has started pinching my cheeks. Maybe I do it too much.

Now that he is tan and sun bleached, he is even better looking then before. The thing is, no matter how cute he gets on the outside, the fact still remains that he is getting closer and closer to 2 every day. His attitude is showing already. I need to remind myself that I love him so when he throws a fit I will have a written reminder to turn too.

I must admit that his communication skills are improving. He is no Ally, but he can usually get his point across. Usually. For some reason, I am the least versed in "Clark". It makes life difficult sometimes, especially when he and I are the only ones around. I am not sure why I have such a hard time deciphering him. I am around him the most. I never had this much trouble with the others. I must be losing my touch. I am sure the Binky in the mouth 24/7 does not help that cause to much either.

Clark is a wanderer. If there is an open door, he is outside and down the street before you realize he is gone. He has gotten smart about it too. If I bring him inside the front door, he heads straight out the side door without even pausing to take a breath. Almost like herding sheep. We have been the recipients of anonymous neighbors returning him to us wondering if we were missing a little kid on several occasions. He loves to be outside and screams if he gets brought in before he is ready.

He also likes to drag his blanket everywhere with him lately. His poor "beecee" is more gray than blue these days. Yesterday he sat by the dryer and cried while I washed it. He is always anxious to throw it in when I load the washer, but by the time I transfer it to the dryer he wants it back, but not soaking wet. When it finished, he took it outside and dragged it through the oil on the neighbors driveway. It was clean for about 2 minutes.

Clark loves motorized vehicles. All of them. When he sees a truck he makes the Rmm Rmm noise. Lately he has this thing for trains. Too Too is what he calls them. He loves to go to Maga's house because they are close by and loud and he gets to see one about every 20 minutes. This weekend the Blue Angels from the Navy were in town for an air show. A lot of their practice maneuvers had them flying directly over our house for the past few days. It was really cool. And really loud. We went and sat on a hill near the airport during their show so he could get a closer look. That was really neat to watch. He loved it. We all did.

My baby is not so much a baby anymore. I love his personality. He is so much fun when he wants to be. His sense of humor is already starting to surface. He likes to tease or hide and gets such a giggle out of it. I am looking forward to helping his vocabulary grow. I have a hard time getting him to say much, but if Luke tells him to say a word, he does it. Butt is one of his favorites thanks to the 5 year old potty humor. He also fake farts and burps. And laughs really hard after he does it.

He is a sweet heart. He still snuggles with me everyday. I know that will end sooner than I want, but for now I will take the time to hold him as much as I can.

Frizzy Skittles

2010-06-13T19:49:00.005-06:00

Along with a bunch of other super cool stuff, Ally found a big bag of these Skittles Fizzl'd Fruits in one of her birthday gifts. The kids were discussing them at the dinner table the other night. Here are a few choice snipets I had to remember for posterity.

I love the way the frizzy tastes.

My favorite is to suck off the frizz and then chew the skittle up.

The frizz gets all over your hands when you hold them.

Those frizzy skittles are so sour. They make my mouth do this (pucker up here).

BTW in case you were wondering, they do not taste good. So I have heard. I make it a rule to not put things in my mouth that are declared gross by my husband as he is handing it to me.

Frizzy or otherwise.

Update: We went shopping today to look for Fathers Day gifts and Ally saw the Fizzl'd Skittles and said, "I know what we can get Dad...we can get him his OWN BAG of Frizzy Skittles for Fathers Day!" I am sure he will LOVE it!

Happy Birthday Ally!

2010-06-08T17:49:00.007-06:00

My baby is 9! Oh how the time flies! She was born 2 weeks shy of our 1st anniversary and we could not have been more excited for our first baby girl! We are super excited for her. She is turning into such a beautiful young lady! I love her so much and really enjoy having her around and part of our family. The other night we went to dinner, just the 3 of us. She choose Texas Roadhouse because her favorite thing to eat in the whole world is steak. Plus she loves the rolls and honey butter they serve. I think she ate 4. Here is a recap of how we spent her day yesterday.

For breakfast we had Hootenanny Pancakes, or "Hoots" as we call them, by request from Al. This was a favorite when I was young made by Grandma Davis. Growing up, Ry knew them as German Pancakes. You blend the eggs with milk and flour then bake in a super hot oven and they puff up real big.

We had a Zooper Birthday Party with her friends and cousins at Tautphaus Park Zoo. They set up a tent and table and chairs for us right in the Children's Zoo area. We ate pizza, watermelon and Boston Cream Pie along with Root Beer floats. All favorites and requests. (Side Note: Eating food 10 feet from a Yak scratching his rear end...not too appetizing) The zoo also provided party games which included Animal Charades and a Scavenger Hunt for information at different exhibits throughout the zoo.

One of Ally's friends was telling her all about her animal family. She has a hippo for a mom, an elephant for a dad, and she is a is a kitty. Nice. But she also called her tallest friend a giraffe and Clark a baby goat. I love how candid kids are sometimes. (maybe I need to get back to the gym)

After the fun adventure at the zoo we headed home and spent the evening hanging out with our cousins from Pocatello, Dubs and Subee. He loves the trampoline and had fun playing with Luke for a long time outside. He also tried to teach him how to play Mario Kart Wii (one of Ally's gifts, and the best one in Luke's opinion) but he got a little frustrated and was content to just watch.

It was a fun filled day with lots of smiles and laughter.

Piano Recital

2010-06-03T10:47:00.003-06:00

With thier piano teacher, Sis. Billman.

Ally and Emma had their first piano recital on Saturday morning. They both did pretty well on 2 out of 3 of their songs. There was one that they both struggled with too. They were not the only performers to make a mistake, but I think it was obvious to most who practiced and which songs they spent the most time on. It was a good learning experience and I think they really enjoyed having the opportunity to learn something new. Ryan is going to keep up on their practicing over the summer so in the fall they won't have to "start over" when lessons begin again. Here's to hoping.

A time to Remember

2010-06-01T12:22:00.007-06:00

Memorial Day is a special day amongst the Smiths for lots of reasons. Every year we trek to Smithfield Cemetery (yes. Smithfield. It is named for our 5 Greats Grandfather) in Smithfield, Utah...just North of Logan. We visit the site of our loved ones, place flowers on the grave and take a picture next to the same headstone every year. We then cross the town to our spot at a local park and commence the feasting. Grandma Smith used to make homemade fried chicken when I was young, but later bought it at the local KFC. It has come to be known as Smithfield Chicken amongst our cousins. My dad would make homemade root beer and everyone would contribute a salad or a dessert. Or both. There was always a ton of food. We would then talk and share a little talent show with each other. Then we would head over to the ball field and start a game of softball. We would play Frisbee or horseshoes and when I was a lot younger there seemed to always be some sort of water fight that would break out.

It sounds like a pretty normal picnic/family get together. And to almost everyone it is. The reason it means so much to my family is a little different. My dad is the only Smith...we have been over this before...so it is up to him to carry on that legacy. Not only that, he and my mom lived across the street from each other all through Jr high and high school but never went out until the end of their senior year. Their first date was to Smithfield on Memorial Day for a family picnic. They had a picture taken of them next to a tall headstone...same one we still stand in front of every year. Except for the 2 years he was away on his mission, they have never missed that picnic, or the picture. It is kind of a milestone every year for us to see how the family grows and changes and who is not around to be able to make it to the picnic.

While we were driving down to Smithfield, Ryan made a comment about how some of my cousins decided not to come this year since Grandma would not be there. They will probably never come again. "This tradition is going to die," he said. I don't think it will. Not amongst my brothers and sisters anyway. As long as my parents are alive they will still go. As long as they go, I will be there and I know they all feel the same way.

But now it is an opportunity to visit Grandma. A time to remember her and all the wonderful things she represents in our life and our memory. It was hard for her the first few years after Grandpa died, and it was a little hard to be there yesterday. But it is important to think of those who have passed before us. They are our heritage and the reason we are here. Passing on the memory of them helps define who we are.

I am a Smith and I will eat Smithfield Chicken every year on Memorial Day. Even if it's only my little family who go.

Side Note: I have lots of pictures to put with this post. They are on my camera at my brothers house. I will post them later I guess.

My cousin who also attends every year also wrote about the event. It was fun to compare her memories to mine. You can read her account too if you want!

Boy Humor

2010-05-31T00:13:00.003-06:00

Here is a conversation I was lucky to be part of this morning.

Ally: Can I please have an early birthday present? Please Please Please

Me: No your birthday is over a week away.

Luke: Hey Ally, come here I have something for you. (as he points in her general direction)
Ally grabs on to his finger and the toot noises commence.

Me: Where did you learn that?

Luke: the neighbor.

Can we move yet? Please Please Please???

Clark is now walking around "tooting" from his mouth. He didn't even make it to 2 before he learned that.

CHEESE!

2010-05-26T22:46:00.001-06:00

Clark is so cute. His personality cracks me up. Lately he has started making his cheese face smile anytime a camera is around. I love it. Binki or not, you can always count on the "cheese". His favorite thing right now is trains. He loves Thomas and whenever he is around a real train he gets super excited. He also enjoys a large truck. (insert rmm rmm noise here) He got mad the other morning when the garbage men turned the corner at the end of street. It was all I could do to stop him from running after it in his jammies.

Free Summer Movies

2010-05-20T23:19:00.004-06:00

The list has been posted! Edwards Theater is doing the free summer movies again. (If you don't live in IF, check the Regal Entertainment Group website. They have lots of theaters listed all over the country.)

Movies are shown at 10 a.m. T W Th. 2 movies at a time so you can choose which one you want to see...or go two days if you want to watch them both! There is always a G and a PG choice too, which is great if you have both older and younger kids. Tell your friends. This is a super fun and inexpensive way to get out of the house...especially on rainy days!

06/22/2010-06/24/2010

Tale of Despereaux (G)
Coraline (PG)

06/29/2010-07/01/2010

Pirates Who Don't Do Anything (G)
Astro Boy (PG)

07/06/2010-07/08/2010

Charlotte's Web (G)
Planet 51 (PG)

07/13/2010-07/15/2010

Rugrats The Movie (G)
Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs (PG)

07/20/2010-07/22/2010

Rugrats In Paris (G)
Kung Fu Panda (PG)

07/27/2010-07/29/2010

Wallace and Gromit (G)
Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs (PG)

08/03/2010-08/05/2010

Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (G)
Monsters Vs. Aliens (PG)

08/10/2010-08/12/2010

Doogal (G)
Hotel For Dogs (PG)

08/17/2010-08/19/2010

Muppets From Space (G)
Paul Blart: Mall Cop (PG)

Gone Daddy Gone

2010-05-16T13:24:00.003-06:00

The tooth fairy must love us! Ally lost a tooth yesterday. I think this is the 5th tooth in less than a month.

I am happy to report she woke up with a dollar under her pillow and nothing else.

Finally!

Another one gone.

2010-05-10T16:52:00.004-06:00

Emma lost Another tooth. That is 3...count em 3 missing teeth in the last 2 weeks.

Last night the Tooth Fairy "forgot" to come. I told her it was because she didn't put her tooth in the special pillow. We will try again tonight.

Man!

Mr. Allyn Smith

2010-05-09T21:16:00.007-06:00

My Favorite Moms- Day 7
This is Allyn. Her dad used to call her Al. People who only see her name assume she is a man. I call her mom. My kids call her Maga. I named my oldest after her. We call her Ally. I love my mom very much. She is so wonderful and I am so happy to have her live close and be part of our life. When I started doing this last week I knew I wanted to wait until Mothers Day to write about her, but now that it is her I am having a hard time doing it. I can’t put into words what I want to say about her.

I was sassy when I was small. Karma is real because I have Ally now. I love that we were required to do chores and to do them right as I was growing up. There was usually a list in the kitchen when we woke up on Saturday. If we wanted to do anything that day our list had to be done first. I know how to do things right. I am not good at it, but I learned the right way.

Allyn has 7 kids. I am #2. You met most of them this week. She has 18-almost 19 grand kids. She is a busy lady spending time with all of them and being to all their events. She has always been involved in everything we were doing in school and extra stuff. In jr. high I though it was annoying but by the time I got to high school I realized how lucky I was that my parents cared about me enough to show up to stuff. Not everyone has parents like that.

Allyn is a Director in MK. She has sold it since I was 11. This is the second time she has become a director. The first time around she had some health issues so she decided to step down and get better. Then a few years ago she decided to become a director again. She is good at it. She has the same customers that she started with. I have great skin because of her.

Allyn is the kindest person I have ever met. She is so sweet to everyone she meets. Everybody loves my mom. It’s true. I still meet people who know her and instantly like me by association. It is a nice perk really. She is very aware of other people and how what we do or say will make them feel.

When I was a teenager, she was the Young Women’s president. I really liked having her be part of my life. She is fun and energetic and can get super silly at times. I think that is why all of us girls have such a blast when we are together. (We got the sarcasm from dad.) It really is a good mix that makes us funny and crazy.

I love my mom. We grew to be really close when I went away to college. I always knew I would feel better if I could talk to her on the phone for a few minutes. She has a way about her that makes people gravitate to her. I love being able to be close to her and to learn from her.

She was good at recognizing our talents and helping them grow. I love to bake. Every Sunday we would have a treat and it was usually me that made it. I know now that I am really good at it, but I just assumed it was my job so I did it. I helped cook dinner a lot too. I still hate to do the dishes though.

I am grateful to have been blessed with a wonderful mother who loves me and has an active role in my life. She is amazing and I would never trade her. I know how blessed I am to have her. Just a few weeks ago my little brother got married. Everyone was there together with our spouses in the temple. I could see the gratitude when she realized how powerful that is. I leaned over to her and told her it was because of her that we were there. SHE has fulfilled her calling of raising her children in righteousness. I only pray that I will have the same experience with my children one day. What greater accomplishment can there be?

I love you mom! Happy Mothers Day!

Molly Mormon

2010-05-08T15:51:00.008-06:00

My Favorite Moms- Day 6

This is Molly. (and Dane) She is my closest sister. We are 19 months apart in age, a year in school, shared a room almost our entire lives and even were roommates in college. You'd think we would be sick of each other. I love her. She is nothing like me and I mean that in a good way. We could not be more different. I love that we compliment each other though. Sure we fought about clothes and stupid things, but we got along really well for most of our lives.

When we were young we had a big bed that we both slept in. We would play under the covers at night when our parents told us to go to sleep. We jumped on the bed a lot too. In the winter we had super big snow drifts and we would climb out our window and slide down. We were in the same dance class when we were little. We had these red tutus with white lace and white fans. Class was in the neighbors basement.

Molly is way taller than me. Until 8th grade we were always about the same height. I was even taller some of the time. Once Jr. High hit, I stopped growing and she didn't. I am barely 5'3" and she is 5'9". She had curly hair growing up, mine was super straight. She is quiet and peaceful and enjoys to be on her own. I talk too much and caused a lot of conflict.

Molly is the peace maker in our family. Mostly she stayed out of any little battles we would have, but when she had something to say it was always to try and diffuse the situation. To help it be better and not worse. It is a great trait to have. It's a rare person who can set personal feelings aside to try to make things better for someone else.

Everything I did in life Molly was a part of. We were not super tight friends like Ashley and Gretchen, but we were so close in age that we were always doing the same things at the same time. We were in the same Young Women and Sunday School classes for a few months when our birthdays would over lap. It was fun because we are not very competitive and we cared about different things.

When we went to college, Molly moved in next door to me so we could be close. It worked out that we were in separate wards so we had completely different friends, but it was fun to be right next door. We had dinner together every so often and worked together on campus. When things would get tough, it was nice to have someone right there. She danced with Contemporary Dance Theater (CDT) while we were there and I went to every performance. She is amazing to watch. She loves the human body and the way it moves. She studied dance in college and got her Masters Degree in Integrated Movement. It is fun though because if ever something doesn't feel quite right, she always knows a stretch or a position to make it feel better.

When we decided to room together we were both super nervous about it. I can honestly say though that the only time we even disagreed on something was the one week our dad let us have a car to share. It sounds silly now, but I think we were both so aware of the possibility for fighting that neither of us ever let the other one bug her.

Molly is kind and loving and a wonderful example of compassion. She makes me feel like I want to be a better person when I am with her. She is genuine about her thoughts and feelings and it is refreshing to be with someone like that.

Molly's little boy is brilliant. He is sweet and loving just like her. He has the smartest observations. Her little girl is the baby of the family right now and she is so much fun to watch grow. Her smile lights up the room!

Molly is a huge part of my life. We are connected in a way I can't describe. It has no words. I feel peace when she is around. Like I found a little piece of my life I didn't realize was missing. I love to be around her. I love to hear her bizarre stories. She is the first person I saw in the morning for half my life . I love that we are still close. It makes me happy to know she is such a great friend. I love her lots and lots!

Double Trouble

2010-05-07T23:18:00.002-06:00

In recent news, Emma lost another tooth. She now has a gap big enough to smile and stick out her tounge at the same time.

When the tooth fairy left the cash, she forgot to remove the tooth. Ally told her it was because it had blood on it and she doesn't like to take the dirty ones.

Oops.

The Wonder Twins

2010-05-07T21:13:00.009-06:00

My Favorite Moms- Day 5

Disclaimer: Ok first off I have to say, my sisters are NOT twins. They are, however, only 13 months apart and look enough alike that people mistake them ALL THE TIME! They spent a lot of time together growing up too. They were like best friends. Plus, I have more sisters than days left so I have to do 2 of them today. I just thought this would be the easiest way.

The beautiful gal on the left is Gretchen. We call her Gertie. (the redhead in the middle is her BFF Tammy) At her dance studio--as in she owns it--most people only know her as that. When she was little, she insisted on being called Fred. If you called her by name she would say, "I'm not Gretchen. I'm Fred. Scotty's little brother." Carson was still a distant hope so she took pity on the only boy in the family and decided he needed a little brother. What a super insightful thing for a 4 year old to think of, really.

Gertie is the easy going, adventure loving gal in the family. Not going to lie, she was a bit of an ugly duckling that turned into a GORGEOUS swan when she grew out of it all. She says it, I am not being mean. But she has always been up for something exciting! When she was really little she would empty cupboards and hide inside them. We called her a little monkey. She climbed on EVERYTHING. Up the door frames, on tables, into trees. We literally found her swinging from the chandelier one day.

Gertie has always been super active. We used to make up plays on the back porch and do little performances for our parents. She also loved the swing set and the trampoline. She played soccer for several years and when she was 12 she started dancing and has never stopped. She has turned a love for something fun and exciting into a career and a growing business. I really admire her drive and determination. Her first "dance studio" was in my parents front room. She would push the furniture out of the way and teach little girls how to dance. She has a gift for teaching. It is amazing the things she can get such little girls to do, and to do well.

I have always had a great relationship with Gertie. We are just far enough apart in age that we were never on each others radar so we never fought. She was super obedient too so that helped in the babysitting arena. I was never forced to be mean to her. (I was a mean, mean big sister.) When Gertie graduated from high school, I was graduating from college. For her present, my parents bought her a ticket to Hawaii to come spend 3 weeks with me. It was so much fun to have her and Molly there with me. They slept on my floor and played with my friends...and sometimes me when I wasn't working or taking finals. I am grateful she was there to share that special day with me. It was such a great feeling to have my family there to congratulate me and to be a part of the biggest achievement I had made. I cherish that memory.

After college I went to work and got a real job. I worked there for about a year. I hated my boss. Loved the job. I was torn, but knew I couldn't stay there. Gertie had moved up to Island Park to work for the summer and told me to come live with her and work there...they needed more waitresses at the restaurant she was working at. So I quit and I moved. It was in July. I had so much fun with her and her friends. Now my friends. I felt old though compared to them. But it was a great experience and one of the last adventures I had as a single person.

We had fun going to West Yellowstone late at night and dancing to Ricky Martin music. We watched a lot of super funny movies and laughed til we almost peed. She spent a lot of time fishing. Which I don't like. (She hunts too. I think she was 21 when she took hunters safety with a bunch of 14 year old boys.) I grew to know her well as a person and not just a little sister. She had to leave early to get back to school. She was on the Bengal Dancers at ISU and they started practice early in the summer. It was still fun, but not the same after she left. It's a good thing I had Adam and Cy, my new best friends.

After Island Park I moved home. (I told you about sharing a room with Sam) Gertie lived there too and we went to the same singles ward and hung out together, like friends not just sisters. She was a good listener while I was dating Ryan and helped me through the excitement and scary part of getting engaged and then married. It was really great to have such a close friend through all that, and to have it be my sister made it even better.

Gertie and I both live in the same town now. Our girls are pretty close in age and our kids like to play together. Infinity Dance Studio is her thriving business and my girls are lucky to be her students. They love dancing, but I think they love being with her the most. It has been so fun to be a part of that adventure. I always tell people who ask that I have no official job there, which is true. I am the owners sister and by default they all think I know everything and direct questions at me. I like having that clout. It makes me feel important. I would put my name next to Gertie's any day.

Gertie is super organized and a little OCD about keeping things clean. Her house makes me cringe in shame. Not only is it spotless ALL THE TIME it is beautifully decorated and warm and cozy. Plus it always smells good in there! It is fun to hang out at their house for no good reason. I love living near her. I wish our lives were less busy so we could spend more time together. She is crafty and always has a fun project. She makes me want to be more crafty.

At one point in my life I considered her my very best friend in the world. I am so grateful she and I have grown so close. I love being near her and a part of her life. She makes my life brighter because she is in it.

**Pause for tears. Grab your Kleenex. Ok you good? On to the next sister of the day**

The sister on the right is Ashley. Look how tan she is. This is what you will notice most about her if you meet her... She is THE MOST BEAUTIFUL person I know. Inside and out. She loves people so much and you can feel that love radiate from her when you are around her. She makes me feel awesome whenever I am in the same room as her. I love it.

Ashley is often misunderstood I think. Her motives are pure, but most people think people like Ash are too good to be true. No one can be THAT NICE all the time. But she can. And she is. Don't get me wrong she has her moments just like anyone else, but she really is a super nice person. Oh and she is freaking hilarious too. Did I mention that? She is.

When we were young we had a love/hate thing. I loved to torture her and she hated me for it. I know sisters, what are you going to do? We grew out of it, but we have always butted heads just a little bit. I think it is the stubborn thing. We are both always right. It makes us good moms, right?

Ashley is the middle child. She has the syndrome and the drama to go with the placement. She has always been the center of attention. She has no fear. She would walk up to total strangers when she was 2 and begin a conversation with them. "Hi. What's your name? Where's your baby?" She used that fearlessness to get a lot of things in life. Solos in choir, leads in plays. She has a beautiful singing voice too. I love listening to her sing. We get asked to sing as sisters a lot, but she is usually the one with the solo. Me, not so much the singer. I am just there because I am a sister. I am ok with it. I don't sing well. I know it.

When Ashley was 16 she fell in love. Serious, I want to spend the rest of my life with this man, LOVE. I thought she was crazy. Turns out I was wrong. This all happened while I was going to college in Hawaii and having my adventures and "living" life and not even thinking about getting married. I had a hard time understanding her motives. She waited for him on his mission (he is a few years older) and went away to college for like 1 semester while he was gone. She was content to stay put and move forward with her life. I did not understand it at all, so I had a really hard time relating to her. I felt like (in my naive little way) that she was giving up so much life to be married so young. What I didn't realize, but now respect, is that she knew exactly what she wanted when she was 16 years old. It took me at least 10 more years to figure it out. I still feel like I am trying to figure it out sometimes.

When I was first married, we lived in the same town, not too far away from each other. Our first babies are only 7 months apart. Ashley used to go for her morning run toward my house so she could stop by and see Ally everyday. She was so excited for her baby and loved mine that much more because of it. They look incredibly alike too. We took her little Yogs to McDonald's with us once when they were around 2. People asked us several times if they were twins. They still look a lot alike. It is strange too because Al looks just like Ry's mom did.

One Christmas Eve, Eve Ashley's house caught fire and the roof burned. We were living in Colorado and made it there just a few hours after the fire had happened. It was a crazy holiday week and everyone was in shock. The thing I noticed most was her attitude. She was strong and positive while her world was crumbling around her. Her kids were not scared because she was not scared. Her faith helped her stay strong. She was comforted when she should have been crushed. I was amazed.

Ashley is driven. When she wants something she goes after it full force. I envy her conviction. I feel like I used to have drive, but nothing like hers. She is a wonderful mom. She has the house of her dreams. She has a horse that she has always wanted. But she has worked hard to get these things because she has drive. She is a Director in MK and drives a pink Cadillac. She runs marathons. She makes me a little jealous.

When Ashley was young she used to always talk about having twins. Twin boys. She really and truly wanted to have twins. I thought she was nuts. 2 years ago her wish came true. She got one of each though and they are the cutest little things ever! Well maybe not so little. When they were born a month early they had to stay in the hospital for a couple weeks extra. I think this was the hardest thing I have ever seen her go through. She would go to the hospital to feed them every 3 hours. She talks about the first 6 months of their life like it was a blur. We didn't see her much during those months. If I did, I went to her house. She rarely left. I cannot imagine. It takes a truly special person to have twins. I could never do it.

Ashley has become one of my best friends in the past couple years. I told you she bought my Grandma's house next door to my mom. Every time we go visit, we get to see them. We stay at their house half the time we are there. I love being with them. We have both grown up enough that we finally get each other and everything doesn't have to be a fight. Her husband, Scott and Ry are super good friends. Luke could not ask for a better role model than Yogs. (they both love Super Mario Bros) I feel welcome in her home and grateful to have the time with her. We love to laugh about the silliest things. We have karaoke nights together and make fools of ourselves.

She is one of my favorite role models. I look up to her in a lot of ways. Her strength and faith make me want to strive to live better and to be a better person. I love her so much and wish I could have seen her for the great person she is 10 years earlier! She is amazing. She is super woman. She is my sister. And I love her.

Hello Samantha Dear

2010-05-06T08:29:00.008-06:00

My Favorite Moms- Day 4

This is Samantha.(and Nate) Sam. Marcie. Cheerleader. Call her what you want. She is my littlest sister. She is a great mom. T will be 3 in July. He is the smartest little kid I have ever met. And the most talkative. I think Ally may come close but she talked about nonsense all day long..still does. T is inquisitive and smart. A will be 2 in September. She had another baby while her baby was still teeny. Bless her.

Sam is really good at organizing her life. I am a little jealous of this trait because I am really bad at it. She is the Primary President in her ward. She is a Director in MK and she has two little kids. Also, her husband is in school so she makes most of the money for their family. She runs every day and has been competing in 1/2 Marathons and 10 K's and all those things I don't understand. She is one busy lady and despite living 2 1/2 hours away, I see her more than most of my siblings. (Secretly she misses me so much she is making it seem like they are moving back for her husbands job)

Sam is an awesome dancer and an even better choreographer. Seriously awesome. She works for my other sister at Infinity and creates the best hip hop dances that seem to do super well in competition. Sam has been hired by teams to choreograph for them too, including the Bengal Dancers at ISU. She rocks!

I love Sam. When I moved home after college there was no where for me to sleep, so I shared her room with her. She was still in high school and she did not love that. She was really cool about it though and I tried hard to stay out of her way as much as possible. Luckily I got married a few months later so I didn't have to be there for too long.

Sam and Ryan have a funny relationship. They would have known each other if I were not in the picture. In fact, I met him because they did know each other. He was student teaching seminary at her high school and they knew each other. He came to watch the homecoming game where his student was being crowned Duke and she was being crowned Duchess. Her first in a long line of titles and awards. We first met at that game.

We have twins, Sam and I. Our babies are only 5 days apart so it is fun to watch them grow and change together. A is 4 inches taller than Clark. She is a lot more polite too. Girls tend to be more so than boys right? I think they know they are connected. They tend to gravitate toward each other when we are together but I don't think they know why.

Sam is hilarious! If she is around, guaranteed there will be laughter soon! She is silly and has the funniest impressions and stories. I love being with her. I am fun when I am with her and I like it. I love Sam. She is almost 10 years younger than me. When we were growing up, she was always just a little kid so I don't feel like I ever really even knew her as a person. We have gotten to become really good friends as adults. I like that age doesn't really matter after everyone grows up. It has made it so we can finally have lots in common and not have an age barrier make things so strange. I always liked Sam when she was small. She really didn't want much to do with me as a toddler, but she was super stuck on mom. She was adventurous and always wanted to be part of whatever "the big kids" were doing.

I am grateful that she is part of our family. I am glad that I was able to spend those few months cramping her style in her room so I could get to know her better. She is a great friend and someone I can rely on. I know that she will follow through with anything I need. I love sharing my life with her and having her be a part of mine. I love her and don't know what I would do without her around.

Lovely Leota

2010-05-05T23:15:00.009-06:00

My Favorite Moms- Day 3

This is Leota. She is my dad's mom. She is my favorite. I am super blessed to have lived next door to her most of my life. I say have because she passed away in September. It was a sad day. She has had congestive heart failure for the past few years and has been oxygen dependent. She was 95. I miss her a lot. It was hard to watch her because she was so active and young my whole life. Even on oxygen she would grab her portable tank and go for walks around the condo complex. She never stopped going.

When I was 8, Wayne and Leota served a mission for our church in Santiago, Chile. He was the mission doctor. While they were gone we moved into their house. I slept in the twin bed room with Molly. While they were gone the house up the road was put up for sale. We loved living out "in the gap" so my mom and dad bought the house up the road and have never moved. My sister and her husband bought Leota's house when she moved to Salt Lake a few years ago.

Growing up next door to Leota was wonderful. We would go visit whenever we felt like it. They had an apple orchard that seperated our house from theirs. It was like a fairy tale forest to us. Wayne would make homemade cider for us with his apple press. Leota would make homemade apple sauce. It was delicious. They also had strawberries and raspberries growing in their yard. Leota's freezer jam was famous. We had it every time we ate with them. She always had chocolate chip cookies in her freezer for us. She would bake them and put them in freezer bags so we could eat as many as we wanted. She loved to bake goodies and always had something yummy for us to try.

Leota loved her garden and had lots of flowers everywhere. Her yard was always beautifully landscaped. Her favorite were her rose bushes. She had bushes lining her driveway in every color you could imagine. I remember my dad giving her new bushes every so often as a mothers day gift or a birthday present. As the only son, he was involved in her life a lot. It was fun to be so close to them and to share so many fun memories

Leota loved to read. She always had a good book next to her chair that she was working on. She was a member of the same literary club for over 35 years. I also love to read and as I got older would choose books on her recommendations. We share a love of historical fiction and mystery. Most of the recipes I use today that I love the best are hers. She had the yummiest dishes. On Christmas morning we would open our gifts from Santa, get dressed, then head down the road to Grandma's for brunch. The menu was the same every year, with little variation. I still make the same Ham and Cheese Quiche and Sausage and Egg breakfast casserole and Orange Rolls for my family every Christmas. I make them more often too...they are too good to be kept to once a year. When Carson was small, he would go to her house every single day for an ice cream cone. We would watch him and when we saw him heading down the road, we would run to catch him so we could have one too.

Memorial Day was another tradition we shared with her. Wayne's family is from Smithfield, Utah and we would go decorate the graves of their family every year. She had a little girl who only lived 3 days and I know she loved to visit her. Then we went to a park down the road for a family picnic, talent show, baseball game, water fight or whatever we thought of that year. Leota would make homemade fried chicken, delicious potato salad and there would be a bag of cookies there too. Lots of other yummy food was brought to share and we really enjoyed the get together. It was the only time during the year I would see some of my cousins. This year will be the first time we go to visit her. I think I will bring roses.

I spent a lot of time sitting at her counter talking to her as she cooked. She taught me how to knit. She taught me how to embroider. She taught me how to quilt. She made a quilt for every single one of her grand daughters to have when they got married. I did not realize what they were for at the time, but when it came time to choose the one I wanted for my wedding, I choose one that I had worked on with her for several weeks. Ryan liked another one a lot better, but I was firm about having the one we made together.

Leota always made me feel like I was #1 to her. I moved away for college and was gone for a long time. Then after I was married for a couple years, we moved far away again. We have always stayed close and when I would come home to visit she was always very welcoming and happy to see me. I know it sounds silly, but she made me feel like I was the most important person who was there. "Lisha! When did you get here?" It made me feel great. I admit I loved the attention.

Whenever we went to see her, she always had a smorgeousborg of snacks ready and waiting. Even those last few times we saw her, she always had food ready for us. My kids loved it. It was always way too much food and way to many choices, but I know she loved doing it, even if it was from the store.

Being able to visit her anytime was an escape for me, and I know I have sisters who feel the same way. Leota was a wonderful listener and a great friend. I feel like I am the most like her. She taught me a lot of things and we had a lot of similar interests. We are also both very short and super sarcastic. I love her very much and it has been hard to not have her around these past few months. I always wanted to share all my news with her and she wanted to hear it. I miss that about her.

I know it has been hard on my dad to have her gone too. I am so grateful for the beliefs that I have so I know I can see her again someday. I am excited to catch her up on everything she has missed. She taught me how to be a good friend. She taught me that is it ok to not be perfect and making mistakes it just part of life. She taught me to love people when they mess up too. I love her very much. She is a shining example to me of a lot of who I want to be.

I love you Grandma. You are missed.

LUKE LOST A TOOTH!

2010-05-05T10:42:00.004-06:00

His very first tooth is now missing from his mouth! Bottom front right.

It was a crazy thing. Right there in the middle of Sam's Club, he was showing his loose tooth to Ryan at lunch and he reached over and flicked it or pulled it or something. The next thing I knew Luke had a tooth in his hand and blood on his face. He is super proud of himself, especially because we know kids older than him that have not lost a tooth yet. The one right next to it is also loose. The tooth fairy brought him $2 for it. Now he is working extra hard to get the other one loose so it can be ready to fall out.

Hello Dolly!

2010-05-04T14:35:00.009-06:00

My Favorite Moms-Day 2

This is Blanche. Yes that is her name. She thinks it is horrible. I love it. When I had my daughters she threatened me when I was toying with using Blanche as a middle name. Not even kidding. She is my moms mom. Grandma Davis. Aunt Dolly. (said ahnt, not ant) Dolly of Jack & Dolly. Anyway she is great!

Dolly grew up in Nephi, Utah. It is just south of Provo...down the 15. So did Jack. They knew each other as kids, but mostly just acquaintances. Dolly is an Ockey...Nod to you miss A. They are a great pioneer family that is full of hard working and super fun people. Dolly's mom is the only Great Grandparent I ever knew. Susan Viola. She could play the piano better than anyone I know...and that is saying a lot! We used to dance around Dolly's front room while Grandma Ockey played "Wind, Wind, Wind the Bobbin" over and over. We never got sick of that song. She played the organ at the movies...as the background because the films were silent. I think that is the coolest job I have ever heard of.

Dolly has a lot of faith. She relies on the Lord so resolutely. Never a question. Jack went to join the Navy and only had a little break before leaving again. He gave her a weekend to decide if she wanted to marry him. They had barely dated, but she said the Lord answered her prayer and she knew he was "The One."

Dolly had 8 children. 5 girls and 3 boys. My mom is #2 with an older brother...just like me. They moved to Michigan for a while so Jack could go to Dental school. Then they moved to Washington for awhile so he could go to Orthodontics school. (that is why we all have amazing teeth!) Eventually they ended up in Pocatello.

Jack is a stalwart man. He serves the Lord in all he does...we all know what the prophets have said about men like him...there is always a better woman at home married to them. Dolly is that woman. When they were living in Pocatello and the kids were all young, Jack got called to be a Bishop in the University ward. Consequently he never went to church with his family. The Bishop of their ward was new and didn't know everyone very well. After several weeks of watching her come to church with 6 little kids by herself, he made a comment about what a great woman she was and how they needed to get her good for nothin husband to come to church and help her. Hee hee hee...little did he know.

When I was a teenager, Molly and I used to "work" for Dolly. We were there to help her clean her house. Except she had a weekly house keeper that did the actual cleaning. We helped Murphy's Oil the wood, or reorganize the china, or dust the millions of pictures of us grand kids, or clean out one of the 15 closets or storage rooms in their house. Jack is a pack rat and we always had to be crafty about trying to get rid of stuff. We would end up back at an area we had been working on a few weeks before and she would have us get rid of a few more things...we could never take too much at a time or he would notice. In the basement at the end of the hall there is a door that leads outside to the side patio. We stashed most things over in that corner...a place he rarely ventured...until it could be hauled off to the DI. Mostly we were there to get seriously over paid and a free trip to Taco Bell. We would "work" for a couple hours then we would hear, "Let's go to lunch" and we were done for the day.

Her house is really big...not even joking about the 15 closets. The bedrooms are all labeled by color. The blue room, the yellow room, the pink room, the purple room, the brown room and John's room. Yea...he still lives there. Another story for another day. The bathrooms are that way too. The yellow bathroom, the pink bathroom, John's bathroom (which by the way has a sauna in it. so cool!) They have a pool table. They have a play room for babies. They have a walk out basement because their house is built on a hill. When you exit the kitchen upstairs there are concrete steps to take you from the upper yard to the lower yard. My uncle's wedding reception was back there...it was the best day and I thought it was so cool. All the bridesmaids wore a different color of the pastel rainbow and my uncle was in a white tux. Cut me some slack, I was 10 when they got married.

I was a lucky girl to have her live in the same town as me. Most people are not so lucky to have their grandparents so close...I realize how spoiled I am that both sets lived near by. (sneak peak for tomorrow!) We spent a lot of holidays in that house. It wasn't until I was 16 or 17 that I realized I had never seen her sit down and actually eat a meal. She is the best cook! She always wanted everyone to feel comfortable and welcome and she did it with food. She succeeded too. I get that from her. I love to cook and serve people good food. Comfort food. She also taught me how to can. I remember doing peaches with her when I was pretty young. The floor was so sticky we could barely move around when we were finished. She has a storage room, one of the many, that is the fruit room. All of her home canned items were stored here. It has bottles that are made of green glass and 2 quart bottles in it still. They are empty of course, but like I said, pack rat.

As I have gotten older, I have been able to foster a great adult relationship with her. I admit I have not always stayed as close as I want to, but lately I see her a lot more and talk to her on the phone more often. The past few years she has given me a gift subscription to Taste of Home Magazine. Every time it comes in the mail I can count on a phone call in the next day or two to talk about which recipes look the best and the ones we can't wait to try.

Another thing I love about her is the relationship she has with Ally. They love each other so much. When Ally was 2 we lived in student housing. At the end of the summer all her little friends went back to school with their parents. She wanted to go to school too. So I enrolled her in the on-campus day care one day a week. I think it cost $14. She was there for maybe 5 hours but it was worth it to her and me. She even got to have lunch and naps there and I got to have one day a week with just Emma. Grandma Davis is one of those ladies who gets her hair done every week, on Thursday morning. It worked out that she volunteered to pick Ally up on her way to the beauty shop and take her to school every week. This started a long term relationship between the 2 of them that no one quite understands but is super sweet. She said to me once, "I know I shouldn't have favorites, but I think she is my favorite great grandchild."

During this same time, Dolly was always trying to give me things without really giving them to me. We were first married and didn't have a lot of stuff you acquire as your life moves forward. I wanted to roast a chicken one Sunday and didn't have a pan big enough to fit it in. So I borrowed one from her. When I tried to return in a few days later, she said, "Why don't you just keep it? I have so many and that one is so small I never cook anything that fits in it anymore." Slick. At Thanksgiving that year she asked me to bake the pies for dessert. I said sure, but did she have a couple pans I could use? I borrowed 6 pie pans and again intended on leaving them at her house. When it was time to go, she handed me a stack of clean and washed pie plates, "Why don't you take these? I have so many and I know you will use them. I never bake anymore." Crafty.

Dolly's health has not been the best in recent years. She had a routine procedure done that landed her in the hospital for a week a few years ago and she has never quite been 100% since. About a year and a half ago, she fell down on those cool concrete steps and bonked the back of her head. It bled and she got stitches, but the dizziness was a problem. We live about 45 minutes away from them, but we apparently have better specialists here. They brought her to the hospital here and it was a really neat opportunity for us to spend time with her. Not the most ideal circumstances, but we got to see her everyday which we usually don't get to do.

I loved knowing my great grandma, even as few times as I got to see her. I want my kids to have the same opportunities so we go see her almost every time we are in town. They take advantage of her generosity by raiding her cookie jar (which by the way has NEVER been empty in my entire life) and begging for trips to Honks. She is very generous. Our birthday cards from her always had money in them. Even at Christmas they still give every single person a card with money or a little gift for the small kids. She signs her checks Mrs. J.R. Davis. How cute and old school is that?

I love my Grandma. She is a huge part of my life. I am so blessed to live near her and to have the opportunity to know her well. I hope my kids have as fond memories of her as I do of my Grandma Ockey, so I am working hard to help them create them. She is a blessing in our lives that I love dearly. What a wonderful example of humor and respect. I love her so much and feel honored to call her mine.

Jules of the Nile

2010-05-03T08:33:00.005-06:00

My Favorite Moms- Day 1

In honor of Mothers Day this Sunday, I am going to do a post-a-day on my favorite moms.

This is Jules. She is my moms younger sister. She and I have a lot of history together. If it were a real thing to have a second mom, she is mine. Growing up, she lived 2 hours and 15 minutes from our front door to hers. (She still does.)

Her life as a mom started out a little rough. She was married to a super fun guy and they had 2 little kids right off the bat. My dress was bright colors including pink and orange and matched the bridesmaids. The kids are less then 2 years apart in age (and about 5 years younger than me). Then the super fun guy and Jules divorced because, well super fun is great sometimes but not all the time.

A couple years later, after she switched "her plan" by building a kick A career in MK, she was introduced to husband #2. He is awesome, and super fun too, but more awesome than fun. Just what she needed. I remember the day they got married. In Grandma & Grandpa D's front room. It was just before Christmas and the tree already had presents under it. Grandpa married them and we all dressed like it was time for church.

Then they bought a cool house up on a remote hill with nothing around it. We got to walk through it when they were "thinking" about buying it. It has a great view from the wrap around deck that overlooks a big valley.

When I was 15 she had had 2 more kids and the littlest one was super creative and had an unbelievable imagination. He needed constant supervision so I went to live with them in the summer to "watch" him and make sure he didn't paint the carpet with fingernail polish again. I became an expert at making wands and memorized The Wizard of Oz. I also learned how to organize files and iron really well. It was a good summer and the first time I made any real money. She taught me how to run a house...which my mom taught me too, but at Jules' I was required to actually do it. I have to admit, I failed a lot. But she never acted upset, she just kept teaching me. I needed that.

I got an internship at The JSMB in college and needed a place to stay. Jules opened up her basement to me...studs and all. It was probably the cheapest rent I have ever paid. She and her awesome husband even came to visit me at college in Hawaii at a time when I really needed family around.

When I graduated from college and got my first job in the area, she let me stay with them until I found a place of my own. Then when my roommate turned out to be scary, she let me move back in.

Jules is the kind of person who brings the fun to any occasion. She has "tough love" (her words) for people when they need it. I like that about her. I tend to be a bit to open mouthed about things for my moms taste, but Jules taught me it was ok when done with love and concern for the other person. I guess she understood where I was coming from in the areas no one else did.

While I was living with her, they broke ground around the mountain from her house for a temple. They built a park across the street from her, and lots of people decided it would be a nice place to live. Her remote little hill became surrounded by homes. A few years later, I stayed with her on the night before my wedding so I could get married in that temple that I watched be built from her back deck.

I like mushrooms because she forced me to eat them one day. Turns out they are delicious.

Jules has been to every major event in my life, and my siblings lives. She works in the booth at The Fair with us. She drives where ever we are to make sure she is at the important stuff. I can't think of life without her in it. I love her very much and love that she helped shape me into the person I am today. She has had lots to deal with in her life. She isn't the healthiest person I know, but she doesn't complain about it, she finds a way to live with it. "Find a way, Make a way" is one of her favorite quotes.

I am grateful for Jules. Her family feels like an extension of my own. Her daughter has never had a sister other than me. Going to her house feels just as much like home as my moms. She is wonderful and full of excitement for life. She is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to business. And she is Grandma Julie to my kids. This summer her 5th grand baby will be born. I see in her a lot of the same qualities I see in my mom. The same qualities I am trying to instill in my life. It's wonderful having not one, but two great examples of a great mom to look to as I grow into that role. I still feel like I have so much to learn, but I have her to thank for helping me apply what I know.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith

2010-05-02T09:33:00.008-06:00

I am a Smith. I think I have mentioned this before. There seem to be a lot of Smiths in the world but as far as my family goes, this is about it. My Grandpa had one brother. My dad has one male cousin who died without children. My dad has no brothers. He only has 2 sons. So to us the name is rare. 5 girls used to make our Smith claim a large one, but we have all gotten married and taken on new names...like Hunsaker, Lunt, Jorgensen, Hansen and Payne. So having a new addition to the Smith gang is a good thing. We pray she will be blessed with many sons!

Carson and Lindsey Smith

Scotty and Rachel Smith

Papa, Lindsey, Carson, Maga Smith

The Smiths + Spouses

The future of the Smiths

Luke Loves Soccer

2010-04-29T22:13:00.003-06:00

Luke is a sportsman. He loves athletics. He wants to play every sport you can think of. It was hard for me to convince him to play soccer again this year because in his words "I already played that." Ryan played sports growing up, but did not have the passion for it like he did for other things...such as newspaper and yearbook. But the competitiveness is still there.

I played soccer a little but that's about it. Neither one of us could care less about sports now...unless we know someone playing. Even then it is not a big deal. I only know it is the NBA playoffs because I spent the weekend with my brother-in-laws. Go Jazz. To us the Superbowl is an excuse to have yummy food and spend time with friends and family.

Spring soccer started a couple weeks ago. His team has a great coach and they have already grown a lot as a team. They have not done super well as of yet, but tonight they won 7-0. He made a goal and Ryan caught it on video. He is in orange, #7 and is wearing navy blue pants and orange long sleeves.

Notice the not once, but twice reenactment of the goal and the competitive little move at the end of the video. He likes to win. It runs in the family.

Congrats Little Brother!

2010-04-26T21:10:00.007-06:00

My baby brother Carson got married on Friday. He married the sweetest girl, Lindsey. She is fun and sarcastic, about a foot shorter then him, and rolls with the crazy in the Smith family well. We are super excited for them to be together and a part of our lives.

They were married in the Idaho Falls Temple on Friday. Their reception was in Pocatello on Saturday. The WHOLE family was there and it was a P-A-R-T-Y. Of course we had a million pictures from the 3 day extravaganza. (of course. we are unable to celebrate ANYTHING in just 1 day)

The photos are having a hard time loading so here is a link to see some pictures if you want!

Soft, White and Fluffy

2010-04-14T10:35:00.004-06:00

Normally when I hear those words I expect to wake up to snow covering the lawn, cars, trees and rooftops in my neighborhood. When I looked out the window this morning several more descriptive words were used to descibe what I saw.

No proof as of yet, but yesterday Ry "Officially" finished the Yearbook. Sounds like a reason to celebrate to me!

A tisket, a tasket

2010-04-07T13:49:00.006-06:00

We spent the weekend at my parents house in Pocatello for Conference/Easter with all the cousins. ALL THE COUSINS. It is not but a few times a year when we are all in the same room together. Considering there are 18 kids...half under the age of 4, it is a lot of fun and a lot of commotion. We usually "hunt" for eggs outside in the huge yard but the weather did not cooperate well this year so we headed indoors to our local church gym. It was fun to be able to have room for them to run and play without freezing their little hands!

Here they are (well some) anxiously awaiting everyone to arrive so the fun can begin!

Showing off their loot.

Once Clark realized that he was picking up candy, he didn't care about picking it up anymore...he just wanted to eat it.

Belated Birthday News

2010-03-29T09:21:00.003-06:00

Emma turned 7 on March 27th. We had a lot of fun celebrating at the Olive Garden on Friday night with Maga, Papa, Gertie and her kids. Here is our funny face photo shoot while we waited for our food.

Super Clarky-o

2010-03-18T20:36:00.004-06:00

Hey. This is Ryan. I have first-hour planning, so I take my sweet time to get to work. I help Lish get the kids ready and then relax for a minute before taking off. Well, I grabbed some clothes for Clark today and after Lish put them on, realized what he looked like. Or more like who he looked like. That's right, Mario from Super Mario Bros. So, I slapped on a hat and sent him outside for a little photo shoot with my phone. What do you think? How does he look? And how nerdy am I?

Welcome to AA

2010-03-07T21:17:00.005-07:00

I hesitate to write this because I really don't want to jinx anything, but I have been running lately. On the treadmill, in intervals, walk 2 minutes run 2 minutes, for 30 minutes total. Sounds lame but let me tell you why this is a big deal. I am fat. Not just overweight but borderline morbidly obese. Seriously. That is where I fall on all the charts. When I step on the Wii fit board it goes "oh!" like it is surprised. When it weighs me the music may as well be a death march. "dun duh dundun dun dun". Oh and I hate running. We have a long history and I have always hated it.

It's ok. I know it. I am tired of it. Hence the running.

I can blame it on the 4 babies, but there is a lot more to it than that. I have basically had a sedentary life style for most of my life. I did exercise sporadically through out, but never enough to make a huge difference. I would lose 10 or 15 pounds at a time then slowly put it back on with 5 or 10 more. Exercise was never a huge part of my life and never encouraged as such either.

I danced when I was young. We moved when I was 8 and so I never really started again.

I played soccer for 5 years. I was the goalie because I was too lazy to run all over the field.

I started running track once but never made it to a meet because I found out I hated running and it really hurt my knees. (I have since been to a podiatrist and found out the problem is in my feet not my knees, so now it does not hurt. Not that way anyway.)

I have big boobs. Not conducive to running.

I bought a good sports bra, I got orthodox, I bought new shoes, I have a gym membership. So now I run. I am a runner. I have done it enough times to say I am one. Not a fast one and not long distance, but a runner just the same.

I run because it is the best way I know how to lose weight. Have you ever seen a fat runner? Besides at the gym? You do it enough for a long enough time and you are bound to become thin. I figure it may take me a year, but eventually I will run all the fat off. I don't want to be 40 and fat. I figure I better start now.

How nice will that be? I will know one day. I will keep you posted on my running.

p.s. secretly I have always wanted to be a runner...I just pretended I didn't.

Pride cometh before the fall...better wear padding

2010-02-23T15:02:00.010-07:00

I was asked at work last night to name something I have done that I am really proud of outside of work. I have to admit, aside from making four babies in recent years, I had a hard time coming up with something that happened in this century. I was stumped, so we moved on. The girl next to me starts into her schpeel about how she was graduating from college in a little over a month and she was so proud of everything she had gone through to get there over the last few years. How she is the first female in her family to get a college education. How she finished her program in four years when they warned her freshman year that most people have to go five.

I have similar stories. I was the first person in my family to graduate from college. I worked super hard and had some amazing experiences to be proud of.

15 years ago.

This has been bothering me a lot since last night. I do stuff worthy of praise. I must. I am busy ALL THE TIME. Somehow cleaning up the mac n cheese Clark dumped on the floor at lunch just doesn't make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

And it is not just the pride thing. When people ask me "what have you been up too" I instantly think of my kids and husband and what they are doing or what they are involved in. I love to talk about them and the great things in their lives. After all that IS what I am doing right. Being their cheerleader. Taxi driver. Personal chef. Housekeeper. Laundress. I am not unhappy with this situation either. In fact I love being a mom. I love watching my kids grow and change and being a part of all that great change. It just makes me take pause because I am not answering the question with the answer they were looking for. If this were an essay question, I would fail.

Here is the reason this bothers me: what happens in 10-15 years when they no longer need those things? When they all move out and learn to take care of themselves. Go and get real homes and real jobs and only come to visit when they are in town. Am I going to be THAT grandma who makes huge amounts of food for 3 people just because I now have a reason to cook?

My point is this. What am I doing that sustains Lisha? What more can I do to feel a sense of accomplishment in myself? With the little time and energy I have left at the end of the day, how can I make the most of those moments to fill MY cup? Just saying it out loud makes me feel selfish.

I enjoy reading. I like to knit. I guess finishing a book or a project makes me feel good. But that seems insignificant to me because I have been doing them both for so long, it is just part of my life. Maybe that is my problem. I have let great things become small. I think I need to start to look at life with rose colored glasses instead of the greasy ones I wear now.

In short, I need to be more humble and have more gratitude in my life.

So what sustains you? How do you fill those fleeting moments in life for YOU. What do you say when an old friend or a new boss asks you "What are you proud of in your life? What have you been doing lately?" Me? I am raising 4 little kids who are brilliant and inquisitive and love to explore new things. AND I am working on improving my physical health by working out and eating better so I can keep up with them. Not to mention supporting a husband who is a very dedicated teacher and who will be starting his Masters Degree in a few months. Oh and we are working toward buying our first home in a few months. Talk about taking on a new project!

Fish from afar

2010-02-20T09:41:00.002-07:00

We went to the Downtown Aquarium in Denver and Clark loved the fish....especially if he didn't have to get too close to them. He stood back about 5 feet from the tanks and watched them. When I would pick him up and take him closer his grip got tight and his whole body became rigid. As the fish got smaller in the tanks, he would get a little closer, but he never would touch the glass.

At one point there is glass in the floor where you can stand over the fish and watch them swim under you...big ones like sharks and manta rays. He freaked out when I put him on that glass and became so tense he couldn't even move to get off even though he wanted too very badly.

He did not want to touch the starfish, but he liked playing in the water.

We had a lot of fun crawling through the tubes and wandering through the halls. He really enjoyed the salt water tanks full of brightly colored fish including Nemo and Dory. His favorite was the blue and yellow Macaws. Although he would get tense and jump every time they would make noise.

A glutton for punishment

2010-02-18T14:54:00.007-07:00

Because there is not enough going on in my life and I don't feel like my stress levels have been hitting the highs I am looking for, I decided it was time for the girls to start piano lessons. I started when I was 5 or 6. Ry was 5 when he started. Ally is already 8. It was time to get going on that adventure. Truthfully the lack of a piano is what was holding me back in the first place. They would have started 2 years ago if I had had one.

Some people would not let that deter them. I have a friend who takes his kids to the church before school every morning to practice. I like to sleep too much to do that. Knowing how to play the piano is not worth my sanity. Now thanks to "Santa" and one very generous brother in law, I no longer have an excuse for them to not take lessons.

When school resumed after Christmas Break the girls started taking lessons from our neighbor every Monday afternoon. They were so excited they could hardly be contained. The first week of lessons was great. They actually fought over who got to practice first. It lasted for about 8 days. Even after the second lesson they were still excited and anxious. Then the reality of practicing every day set in and they are no longer anxious.

So now I not only have to bribe them to do homework every day, I have to coerce them into practicing piano too. Emma informed me the other day that she was done with piano. I told her no. I already paid for the lessons this month.

Happy Engageaversary!

2010-02-08T22:15:00.004-07:00

It is almost Valentines Day. I know. Another excuse to eat more chocolate and for the manufacturers to make more money on pink and red heart shaped versions of something they already make. Such a conspiracy.

Anywho...I bring it up because it is also the 10 year anniversary of my engagement. Woohoo! And look what I got for my engageaversary. Yea me! I love how small and lite it is. Plus we have a wireless printer so I can just push a button and it automatically sends it through with no wires to hook up. How cool is that?

Step Aerobics Nearly killed me...

2010-02-01T14:21:00.003-07:00

This morning I got up the courage to attend a class at the Apple that was not Yoga. Step Aerobics is almost everyday at 8:30 so I decided this was going to be "my class". The timing is perfect and I need the structure to keep my heart rate up so I can actually burn some calories. I have been working out for weeks now trying to build up my endurance and condition myself to make it through the 55 min class.

I went a little early and warned the instructor that I was new and might pass out. I lasted about 20 before I had to pee. My bladder is not used to all that jumping around. I came back in and gave it my best effort but at about 45 I had to stop. My head was spinning and my heart was racing faster than it has since child birth (or some other activity that I have not done in 10+ years). I have to say, I am not afraid of sweat. I am not afraid of turning into a tomato...which I do every time I work out. I am afraid of collapsing onto my step and rolling into the path of the girl stomping out her steps next to me. Mostly because it would cause everyone to stop and look and I would be responsible for their decreasing heart rate.

So I choose to step aside and wait it out until the spinning stopped and the heavy breathing subsided a bit. The instructor got a little worried and came back to make sure I was not nauseous...I know to drink water so that was not an issue. She was relieved. But did mention to the entire class that I was brand new. To which I got a round of applause and a whole bunch of well wisher comments as the class ended.

Maybe aerobics classes are not the evil place I once thought they were. Maybe no one cares if you can do the steps or not. Maybe everyone is as worried as I am about passing out into oncoming steppers to even notice me red faced and frustrated behind them.

One gal, the one with the 3 levels under her step and kicking her leg up to her chin, walked down the stairs next to me and said "I hated step for about a month. I was so worried about everyone watching me and not knowing what to do...but then I realized no one cares and they are concentrating just as hard and are too focused to notice my mistakes. Now I love it!"

Maybe in March I will love it too. As long as I don't pass out I think I will be able to keep going.

So Long Green Lantern...You served us well

2010-01-29T12:06:00.004-07:00

Yesterday we bought a new van. It looks like our current Supervan...it is also a Dodge Grand Caravan. It is however 5 years newer and my favorite color, RED! We got a very nice deal on it from a very honest and reputable salesman (when our former Bishop/current Stake President was there "just to chat" when we returned from the test drive, we believed him when he said the guy was honest).

Why the need for 2 vans you ask? My Geo Prizm/ the green car aka. The Green Lantern has officially died. Ryan was driving it home from church a month or 2 ago and the engine "blew up" in the no fire way but the lots of black smoke and no longer working way. It has needed a new transmission for a long time. When we moved to Colorado it started acting weird causing us to turn around and attach a dolly to the back of the moving truck for the Green Lantern--at the time our one and only vehicle. The transmission was going out and it needed to be replaced way back then.

Needless to say we have had it parked in front of the house since before Christmas wondering what we should do with it. Donate it. That is our conclusion. But before it goes I wanted to wish it a fond farewell with some great memories.

I bought the Geo, Lucy, as I called her back then right after I graduated from college in 98. It was a 96 and had only 25,000 miles on it. She and I went through many a Salt Lake City commute together. The name really never stuck and when I moved to Island Park in 99 everyone started calling it the Green Car. I know real original, but it had a personality to it and it was said with lots of affection since it was one of the few vehicles we had access too.

While in Island Park Gertie, Tammy and I used to take it for drives and listen to the radio REALLY LOUD. Whenever we heard Livin' La Vida Loca we would stop the car, get out and have a little dance party right where we were. It also took us on many a midnight run to "West" for late night snacks after we got off work.

When I started dating Ryan, we took the geo on several trips to Arizona to meet his family, for Nick's wedding then to Oregon for Trent's wedding after we got married. We loved that little car and I tried as hard as I could to teach Ry how to drive a stick...

It served us well all through ISU, living close enough for Ry to walk to school if needed so we could still live with only one vehicle. When we moved to Colorado we took her with us...you heard that part already.

The students on Ry's yearbook made him a Green Lantern symbol the first semester he was there, he put it in the back window and the name stuck. Soon after we found out we were pregnant with Luke. Try as we might we could NOT fit a third car seat in the back of that car. So we went shopping, found the Supervan and it officially became Ryan's car.

We have had that car for 12 years. It is the first car I ever bought. The only car I owned all by myself, even if it was for only a couple years.

I am really sad about letting it go. I feel like a piece of me is being thrown out too. My RED van makes me feel better, even if it is a van. Someday I won't need such a large vehicle...in like 18 years. Maybe my next car can be an SUV and I can graduate from the minivan.

"Not on a teachers salary."

I need a new computer

2010-01-27T14:44:00.003-07:00

When I try to load photos on my blog I get a connection error. Sometimes while I am checking my email I get a stack overload error. It also asks me a lot if I want to continue running scripts on the page because the memory is too low and it might close. Not to mention when it tells me it can't open a program because there are too many running, but nothing is open and I just started the computer.

This is how I know I need a new one. Our memory is not sufficient for our needs. We don't have enough RAM. I have all but given up on trying to blog because it never lets me post...consider yourself lucky to be reading this.

I heard the sweetest words the other day.

"Maybe we should use our tax return to buy us a couple of Netbooks."

This from my husband who wants to put every penny in savings for our house. We are supposed to have it by Feb 5. Maybe next month I will be doing a lot more blogging. We can only hope!

My dream...

2010-01-18T10:57:00.004-07:00

I have a dream that one day my kids will be able to replicate a clean room. Quickly and quietly with no whining.

I have a dream that I won't care so much if wax spills on the carpet because it is my carpet to worry about.

I have a dream that people will realize that 10% is not a generous tip and they are not doing me a favor.

I have a dream that deadlines are more like future guidelines to look to, but never miss.

I have a dream of a restful night with no interruptions by children and especially not barking dogs.

I have a dream of peaceful days with lots of compromise and no arguing over toys or messes or the last bag of fruit snacks.

I have a dream of short and concise meetings.

I have a dream of a smaller, more energetic version of myself.

I have a dream of college education, mission calls and temple marriages.

I have a dream of far away lands just waiting to be explored.

I have a dream of long days of just me and Ry doing whatever our heart desires...

Turnaround is Fair Play

2010-01-17T13:25:00.005-07:00

Hey. This is Ryan. When I got home from church at noon today, I had the unique opportunity to lay in bed and laugh with my wife. "What?" you're asking. "You don't talk with your wife in bed about everything and love each other and blah, blah, blah?"

No. I sleep in my bed and I have a job that drains every ounce of energy out of me, four children that apparently require every milisecond of every hour of every day, a Facebook addiction and a yearbook deadline that will, I'm sure, be responsible for my early death and so I'm exhausted by the time we decide to plop into bed and pass out for about four hours before Clark starts screaming, "me need boob."

Anyway, this conversation that we had reminded me why I fell in love with her. She's funny and thinks I'm hilarious -- which probably was the real draw, if I'm honest. She laughs at what I say and it makes me feel good.

We started talking about our children and their ... um ... quirks. Is that a nice way to say it? Basically, we were trashing on our kids and what bugged us most about them.

We have four wonderful children whom we love and support and all that mushy parent stuff but let's face it. We have lived in an 800-square-foot house for almost three years (and other tiny domiciles for most of our 10 years together). We know each other. Real well. And because of our one bathroom with a door that doesn't quite shut, everyone has a little too much knowledge. Do other parents have to teach their children to shut the door to pee? Or is that just something we have to do because of our familiar comfort zone and close quarters?

So, do you wanna hear what we were saying? You know you do. Here goes: Ally is drama. All the time. When she's not crying (we're talking literal tears) about some injustice done ("I forgot my spelling words and I'm gonna fail. FAIL! Do you HEAR ME?! FAIL!"), she's butting into everyone's business and mothering them to death.

Emma is a space cadet. She willfully ignores us and when we tell her for the THOUSANDTH time to please pick her coat off of the floor, she continues to stare at her dolls and mumble some curse, I'm sure, on either Lish or me. She is a pig which bugs the crap out of Ally because they will spend all day screaming at each other and "cleaning" their room and two hours later, Emma will have rediscovered all her toys and destroyed it once again.

Luke is defiant and automatically answers "no" to any and all requests. When he doesn't want to take out the trash, pick up his toys or change his clothes, he rolls on the floor and whines like he has kidney stones until Lisha finally uses the "I'll-tell-Dad" threat. And he pees his pants when he's playing Nintendo which results in being grounded for weeks. Which also makes him whine.

Clark, as mentioned before, is still nursing. This causes all kinds of problems like causing Lish to cry out in pain as he chews on her nipples or waking up to get some milk at 4 a.m. He's also taken to hitting Lish when he's frustrated but runs around the corner and hits the first person he sees when I tell him "no."

As we discussed these character flaws and the fact we desperately need a new, larger house, we suddenly sobered as it dawned on both of us that we are reaping what we sowed. In other words, we were the same punks to our parents that our kids are to us. And now our parents were having revenge and probably sitting back giggling with satisfied laughter at the same stuff that drove them crazy.

"I can't wait until they have kids," Lish said after we had told each other our kiddy quirks. "I am going to invite them over, sugar them up with pop and candy, then you'll shake them up until, when we send them home to their parents, they explode all over the place. Then, we'll laugh and laugh and scream, 'YOU DESERVE IT!' Right. In. Their. Faces."

"It is how God intended it, after all," I concurred.

How about you? We know you love your kids, but are you waiting for that day when you can smugly look into their eyes and say, "You were the exact same way. Suffer!"? You know you are.

Free for All

2010-01-12T14:42:00.005-07:00

I love to read. I have mentioned that before. My friend Sandi told me about a site where I could get free books in exchange for reviewing them on my blog. You can sign up on their site here if you are interested in some free reading material too.

So here goes my first installment.

What's Age Got To Do with It? Living your healthiest and happiest life

by Robin McGraw

Ever wonder how some women look like they have never aged, no matter how long it has been since you last saw them? I do, and I want to know their secrets! In this book on how to take care of yourself, inside and out, Robyn McGraw does just that: gives us all the inside secrets to how she stays young looking and fit despite the ticking of the clock. One of my favorite sections is on watching what you eat. Not just for weight loss but for total health. Eating with a purpose in mind of getting those essential nutrients that will help you maintain the youthful skin, healthy muscles and energy needed to continue to feel young as we mature.

I am in my mid thirties and have to admit I was a little annoyed about this book at first. I didn't want to read it, but the information is vital to women my age, even if at first glance it does not seem so. Most of the routines McGraw has formed over the years, she started when she was very young. Using her advice in my life now will help me have the results I want 20 or 30 years from now. I only wish I had had this book to guide me 10 years ago. I recommend not only reading this book, but keeping if as a reference guide for the lifestyle changes I want to make. I did read it straight through, but it may not be necessary to understand what each section is teaching.

One of the most comforting things I discovered when reading this book; no one is perfect and it is not going to take thousands of dollars to make you look and feel better. But we have to start making changes and taking time for ourselves. Most of the suggestions McGraw gives are simple routine changes we can make in our everyday life. If change is what you are looking for, McGraw will help you understand a few ways you can make those changes. Do it for yourself and for you future.

A few things to say...

2010-01-11T22:22:00.004-07:00

First off I want to say Happy Birthday and Happy Baptism Day to my nephew...Yogs. We celebrated his special day last night and it was great. How lucky is he to have them all on the same day? By the way, he is Ally's "twin" and Luke's best friend. He only lives a quick 45 minutes away so we see him lots.

Second I want to tell you about my new goal. I have a "pile" of boxes in the boys room that needs to be organized, re boxed (in my handy Rubbermaid's I bought) and a new home found for them. So that is what I will be working on this week. I am a little nervous about completing this one in a week, but I am not going to give myself more time or I will procrastinate it for another 2 1/2 years. Wish me luck. The pile is high and the task is daunting.

Third the girls are loving piano lessons! I am so excited and so are they. I hope it stays fun for them. Any tips on that? Ally played through Emma's entire book last week. It has become a privilege to get to practice piano. I certainly don't remember it being like this when I was young, but maybe I didn't love it as much as they do. hmmm...

Fourth speaking of the girls, they both perform this Friday night at the IF JV game. You are all invited! They will be doing some of their competition dances that they are getting ready. So cute and fun! The costumes this year are awesome! Good job Gertie!

Fifth I went to the gym 3 times last week. Yea ME! Today was crazy so I didn't make it, but I will go tomorrow. On the first day I thought I was going to die. By the third day it was not so bad and the timer went off before I was dying to stop.

My Not A Diet

2010-01-08T23:57:00.004-07:00

Let's face it. Diets are crap. They are no fun and the only thing I do when I am on one is wish for the day I will be "done". But we are never done because as soon as we quit we put on more weight and then we have to start the whole thing over again. It sucks.

So here is my plan.

I am working out. My goal is 3 times a week but I am pushing for more. I gotta make working in that dumb day care worth my time! Did I ever tell you how much I hate to baby sit? Another day perhaps.

I am watching what I eat. Tonight at 10:30 when I really wanted Alfredo sauce and 5 bread sticks, I ate a salad. Yes I ate a bread stick too, but it filled me up and saved me like 800 calories. The key to this: I am going to eat what I want so I don't fell deprived. I am just not going to eat as much of it as often as I usually do.

I am not making this a goal or a resolution or a deadline type deal in any way, shape or form. That is just setting me up for failure, which I am not good with.

What I am doing is making it my habit. Our country is full of fat people. I don't want to be one of them anymore. I don't want my kids to become one of them either. It is pretty much certain if we continue doing what we are doing that we will stay fat.

I have no distinct weight in mind or time limit on when I will get there. When I can feel confident in my skin and run around with my kids without aching or getting winded I will know I am there.

I am not unrealistic about the body I want. I have stretch marks in crazy places. I have lots of spider veins. I even am starting to wrinkle in places... mostly from smiling. My boobs are sagging..but I did breast feed 4 babies. I know who I am. I would just like to not have excess fat underneath it all anymore. I can change that part. So I am going to.

I am a work in progress and I will never be "done". The moment I think I am is the moment I start to go the opposite direction I want to go.

Just wanted to share...

2010-01-06T13:14:00.007-07:00

...a few things I am enjoying right now.

I love to read and I recently read Percy Jackson and The Olympians series. The first book, The Lightening Thief, will be released as a movie in Feb. If you even kind of like Harry Potter you will love this series. It is smart and action packed. Really good for young readers too.

Just rented Julie and Julia. What an amazing movie! It is 2 stories told together and how they intertwine. Meryl Streep is, of course, awesome. Amy Adams is really great in it too. I am liking her a lot lately. Night at the Museum Battle of the Smithsonian was better than the first largely because of her.

Knitting has become a habit again as of late. I took a hiatus for a while from it, but decided to make some Christmas gifts for the girls and have since been back in the habit. I just realized I misplaced several sets of DPN's and circulars though so I am frantically tearing the house apart.

In related news, I purchased lots of Christmas merchandise for 75% off including 7 new Rubbermaid totes to help with Project: Organization. Hopefully this will aid in finding my missing needles.

I keep looking at the scrapbook supplies and am getting antsy to use them. Who knew I would ever want to do that again. I do though and one of these nights I will actually pull them out. I better print some pictures first.

TV on DVD has got to be the best way to watch a series I can think of. Lately I have been watching season 1 of Alias. I love that show! Action packed ending? Teaser for next week? Just pop in the next disc and you have the resolution right away. Plus you don't have to remember the reference from 8 episodes (or 2 months) ago. It was just last week that you watched that episode--or better yet, pull it out and see it again to refresh your memory.

I am currently reading Catching Fire, the sequel to Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games. Call me crazy, but I love these books. Something inside tells me I really shouldn't. The whole premise is gross and appalling, but the story is compelling and impossible to put down.

The new cover designs on the church magazines. Very clean and modern. Plus, President Monson's stories are amazing. I love how you can tell he truly loves each of us by the care and concern he gives to every individual.

Christmas Candy. I love making new things and trying new recipes. This year I made English Toffee, which I had never tried before and it was delicious! I also made caramel's, fudge and peanut brittle. I ate way too much of everything!

So now, I really like my gym...I went and worked out this morning and I feel good. Plus, the daycare is familiar to Clark so dropping him off was easy as pie. (I work there once a week in exchange for a membership) Not to mention, they have nice pools, hot tubs and a women's only workout area.

Internet deals! I got a Little People's Nativity Set for only $24 (regularly $40-$65) in December. Just today I got a flight for only $38 to go visit my BFF in Ft. Collins in February. The return flight was only $52 as well. Got to love the deals!

Christmas Cards from long lost friends. They seem to keep trickling in. (BTW mine are going out this week. :) Better late then never right?)It is fun to see everyone with their family and how they are growing. Kids are getting bigger and I feel like I am finally a legit parent. Even though in my head I am still in my early twenties and in college. Ry is still 16 in his head. Does that make me a cradle robber? I prefer cougar I think.

What are some of your favorite things right now? Feel free to share.

Resolve this

2010-01-05T10:55:00.004-07:00

So how did you do on your resolutions last year? I did not do so well.

The thing about resolutions is you have to be reminding yourself about them all the time to make them a realistic goal. I do not do that and really could not remember more than 2 before I went back to the list I made.

I know I wanted to lose a bunch of weight...which I did, but gained back when LA Weight Loss went bankrupt or whatever happened to make them close all the centers with no notice to us.

TheVisiting Teaching was going GREAT, until they dissolved our ward and put us in a new one, with new companions and new people to visit.

The house decluttering I did pretty well at. We have less then a dozen boxes of random things stacked in the boys room now...mostly baby clothes. Then Christmas came and added back into the piles of stuff.

The dishes were sporadic at best. More done than not on most days, but I did start a job and am not home all the time anymore.

Keeping in touch is becoming easier with facebook, but still not where I want it to be--especially with my sister in laws.

I did not run in the race. I have not been running hardly at all.

So there are my excuses. I know it is a new start, but how realistic are resolutions? Are we setting ourselves up for a February Failure by creating these goal for ourselves that we really have no intention of accomplishing?

The gym was packed this morning...how long will that last really? I think a short term goal is a better way to work on something. At least for me it is. So here is my short term goal.

*Clean out the front room by putting all the decorations from Christmas away, in storage, and get the new piano set up.

Knowing me, this could take a month. So my deadline is Friday. I will return and report when I am done and set a new goal at that time. Who wants to join my 1 resolution at a time? Set a goal for yourself you know you can accomplish in under a month, a week preferably. Then when you achieve it, you will have that much more confidence to set and reach another one!

Good luck!

Neighbor Gifts

2009-12-25T12:31:00.013-07:00

Baking is one of my very FAVORITE things to do...and I must say I am pretty good at it too. Look at me. Do I look like a skinny chef? NO! Naturally I would want to spend hours in the kitchen baking delicious Christmas treats to share with the people who are our friends. Turning it into a family project is one of the highlights of our Christmas season.

This year I made Carmels, English Toffee, Peanut Brittle, Peanut Butter Fudge, Chinese Noodle Treats and Sugar Cookies. Of course the kids always help by decorating the cookies. This time we even used sugar we colored ourselves...I don't think I will ever buy it again. It was so easy to make! Plus then I don't mind so much when it is all over the table and floor.

photos courtesy of Ally

'Twas the Night Before Christmas...

2009-12-25T12:31:00.010-07:00

Being the merciful parents that we are, we let our kids open one present on Christmas Eve. In keeping with the long standing tradition of Christmas Jammies (my Grandma Smith used to make them for us every year when I was young), we opened our one gift on Christmas Eve right before bed--our brand new pajamas. I didn't get any this year because when Ry went to get mine they were sold out. I got a new pair about a month ago anyway. Here is everyone in their brand new Christmas Jammies!

Hansens in the House

2009-12-25T10:57:00.006-07:00

One of the drawbacks to living near my family is that we are SOOO far away from Ryan's family. We wish there was a way to be close to everyone, but that is not possible and since Ryan found a job in Idaho, we moved here. When we do get to see more Hansens, it is rare and visits are few and far between. It is our goal, however, to make them less of a rarity.

Last weekend we were lucky enough to have one of Ry's brothers visit us. Nick and his family are taking a cross-the-West tour to visit Grammy Taylor and other family and friends for Christmas Break and we were lucky enough to be a pit stop on the way! They made it to our house late Thursday night, stayed all day Friday and left Saturday morning. Ry was, um, "sick" on Friday and the kids stayed home from school. We had tons of fun while they were here.

Some highlights include:

Ally and Emma having cousins to play with that are not only the same gender, but almost the exact same age. Ally is six weeks older then Kalee. Emma is seven weeks younger than Alana.
A delicious dinner out with no kids and lots of funny memories! Thank you V! Best babysitter ever!
Shopping with Rebecca Friday morning. Serious girl time! Plus we both equally hate it so it was easy to get in and out quick.
Clark watching Cason (who is 2 1/2 months younger) and realizing it was OK to use the voice he tries out on occasion. His vocabulary is exploding these past few days.
Making a gingerbread house with 5 kids and virtually no fights.
Taking advantage of having a truck to go to the dump/DI. Nick and Ryan cleared out all the "junk" we had stored in the back yard/driveway. Items included an old washer, a broken dresser, a highchair we have no room for, an old car seat and multiple unidentifiable plastic items that have broken and faded over time. We no longer look like we are white trash. Well aside from the broken car in front of the house, but that just happened.

I know that Ryan loved having his brother here. It was a lot of fun to spend time with them and let our kids play with their cousins that they don't see as much. We were all crammed into our tiny house but there were no fights. The Arizona kids got to play in the snow ... well, what little snow we had. They even got to see Ally and Emma dance at their dress rehearsal for the Winter Recital. We packed a lot into the short day in a half and I would love to have the chance to do it again.

Happy Holidays from The Hansens!

2009-12-23T14:40:00.002-07:00

We hope you are having a wonderful holiday season ... we sure are enjoying it! From playing in the snow to shopping for that perfect gift, we have had a lot of busy days this past month! Unfortunately, the blog has felt the neglect of the season. But, Ryan has told me this is the wave of the future: writing your Christmas letter online and then sending a family Christmas card with a link to the blog. So, that's what we're doing.

So here is an update on the Hansen Family:

Ryan (pictured with Huey Lewis. Yes, the Huey Lewis!) is currently teaching at Idaho Falls High School. He loves, loves, loves his job. He is the yearbook and newspaper adviser as well as a speech teacher. In the third trimester, he gets to teach one section of photography which he is looking forward to. The publications that he advises continues to dominate in the state. His summer was spent being "Mr. Mom." You can read some of his adventures here, here and here. Most of the children survived and so did he. However, he bolted out the door the first day of school with a little extra spring in his step. He is currently the Young Men's president in our ward. They just made our Bishop our Stake President so we will be getting a new Bishop in the new year. Needless to say, he is not holding his breath. Last Sunday, the bishop/stake president came up to compliment him on wearing a suit coat to church. "You clean up nice," he said. "Wait! Are you the new bishop?" He about passed out because the stake president would be the one to call him! :)

Lisha is busy with being a mom and working too many "jobs" to count. She is serving at the Olive Garden a few nights a week. The extra "play" money is nice to have around, but we miss mom when she is gone. She is serving as the second counselor in the Relief Society in our ward. It keeps her super busy. Among other things, she organizes fundraisers for our kids' parent-teacher organization, taxis the kiddos to and from every activity, pays the bills, manages the house, loves on Clark and the rest of the fam and keeps us all happy. (Ryan's writing this, by the way.) In short, Lisha is our Superwoman! (Is it no wonder I love her so much?)

Ally, 8, is a third grader this year. She continues to excel in math and knows that she loves it! Ally was baptized in June. It was a great experience for the whole family. She continues to dance at Infinity. This will be her third year competing on the "Minis" team. It's very demanding, but she's come a long way since her first class. Her favorite dance style continues to be hip hop but she also takes jazz, ballet and tumbling. She was able to participate in a special ballet camp this summer. Ally loves Primary Achievement Days and is looking forward to her new 4-H club activities. As our oldest, she tends to be the mom to her siblings. We're working on that. That being said, she is our greatest helper. You can often find her doing the dishes (without being asked, I might add) or helping tend Clark.

Emma, 6, is a first grader this year. She has become a super reader and has advanced to the second-grade reading class. Emma also dances at Infinity and will be competing for the first time this year with the Tinys. She is becoming quite a beautiful dancer and really enjoys her jazz, hip hop and ballet classes. She met with disaster this summer when she fell off our trampoline the third day we had it and broke her arm. She got to wear a bright pink cast for the second half of the summer. Swimming lessons were cut short, sadly, because she is our little fish. Emma often can be found in her room playing with her dolls or Littlest Pet Shop toys. She will disappear for about an hour and we know she's entered "Emma World." The carnage is something out of Sid's house (from Toy Story, you know?), though, when she is done. Many times we have found Barbie posed in the arms of our Sherriff Woody doll, in a compromising position. We're having the "appropriate contact with boys" talk. Emma is our sweetheart. She tends to love ... a little too much at times ... on Clark and is a big helper, too.

Luke, 5, is a preschooler this year. He attends the same elementary school as his sisters as a peer model in the Developmentally Delayed Preschool. One of the perks of being a district employee. His teacher described him as "brilliant" (her words) at our most recent Parent-Teacher Conferences. Then again, she teaches the developmentally-delayed class, so we're not quite sure who she is comparing him to. He enjoys riding the bus to and from school, even though it is only four blocks away. Frankly, he was tired of waiting on his slowpoke sisters in the morning. He is always the first one ready and was constantly late because of them. Something tells me things aren't going to change much from here on out. Luke played T-ball and soccer this year and continues to excel at sports. He wants to learn to "fight with swords" next apparently. He got an old Gameboy Advance for his birthday (which Clark lost) and does not take breaks. He's pretty glued to it all the time which is consitituting a new "screen time limit" rule. They have a limited time for anything that has a screen. Once they've used up their minutes, then it is time to shut down the screens. (Oh, and there are no rollover minutes.)

Clark, 15 months, is the highlight of our day. He continues to learn new words every day and can ALMOST run. He is getting really skinny, walking off all his baby fat. He is still super little though and it is hard to believe he is as old as he is. Clark loves balls and toothbrushes. It is the weirdest thing! You can often spot him waddling around with a death-grip on a toothbrush in his fist. He doesn't suck on it, but don't you dare try to take it from him! His comprehension also seems to be growing. He will throw away his own dirty diapers and shuts the door when you ask him to. He likes to give open-mouth kisses and "loves." The funniest thing about Clark is that he can recognize candy and goes crazy shouting, "MA! MA! MA!" or trills like Chewbacca until he gets it. We wish everyone could get a little Clarky-love. It would truly make your holiday.

We send our love this holiday season. We recognize that this time of year is to remember Christ. We hope you do all year round, but maybe just a little more than usual this year. The kids got to go to Toys 'R' Us and shop for two families that didn't get Christmas. For a part of it, we worried they would not stop focusing on what they wanted instead of helping this family. By the end of the night, the kiddos were running things to the basket and saying things like, "Oh, this little boy will love this!" or "The baby will look so cute in this!"

I think it sunk in. We truly love our friends and family and feel each of you have touched our lives in some special way. May your lives be as blessed as you have made us feel this year!

With much love,

The Hansens

Ryan, Lisha, Ally, Emma, Luke & Clark